


Just a little bit

by ThunderFrost2012



Series: Fanged Love [1]
Category: Muse, Music RPF
Genre: Belldom - Freeform, Bloodplay, Character Turned Into Vampire, Comedy, Consensual Violence, Dark Comedy, Fantasy, Fluff, Killing, M/M, Minor Violence, Romantic Comedy, Supernatural Elements, Vampire Sex, Vampire Turning, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-07
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2017-11-09 09:36:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 131,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThunderFrost2012/pseuds/ThunderFrost2012
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Gaia left him, Matthew lost his balance, torn between what he craves and what he’s sure he could never have. So everyday he attempts to destroy himself, slowly and inexorably. This worries the hell out of Dominic, who can’t do nothing but watch. Until someone turns Matt’s life into un-life and everything changes.<br/>Will the newborn vampire manage to deal with his new existence, his new supernatural powers, his friends, his music, Muse and most of all- his sudden blood lust?<br/>What if what happened to him was just what Matt was waiting for to finally grab his chance with Dominic, his true ( if unconfessed) love?<br/>And what about the drummer? Is his life going to change forever as well?<br/>In this story you’’ll find everything: comedy, some angst, humor, introspection, fluff, friendship, love and bloodplay, of course! But darker themes, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: I'll comfort you, my friend, helping you to blow it all away.

**Author's Note:**

> Setting: From Dec 2009 on
> 
> Pairing : BellDom (yay!)
> 
> Rating: pg15 so far
> 
> Genre: comedy, romantic, supernatural… and dark (but just a little bit, lol!)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't know/own Muse and the people around them (but the original characters are just mine and I'm pretty jealous of them, lol!) , this has never happened and I don't get money for writing this, it's just so much fun!
> 
> Feedback: it's my resistance!

"This place reminds me of Gaia." Matt states, with a melodramatic attitude, as he sits with his friends at the table they reserved in the restaurant.

"But you've never been in this restaurant!" Chris reminds him, as he grabs the menu, to read it.

"And mostly you have never been here, in Las Vegas, with her. Maybe last week, some places could remind you of Gaia, since we were in Italy, but it can't happen here." Dom protests, as he takes a quick, curious look around.

"It's not the place itself. Truth is that I've been in tons of restaurants with her, so only the fact of being in a restaurant, no matter which one and wherever it is, reminds me of her." Matthew explains.

"So, if that is the way you think, you'll end up pining for her, wherever you are, whatever you do." Dominic comments.

"I can't help it." his best friend sighs, unhappily.

"C'mon, Bells, I can't watch you like this. You've got to get over her!" Chris exclaims, kind of worried for his friend.

"Don't worry about me, I'll sort it out. After all, it's still too soon for me to have gotten over her. It's only been a month since Gaia and I split up." Matt exclaims.

"That's right, it's already a month, which is a good reason to cheer up. Look at me: when Jess left me, I recovered in a week!" Dominic points out.

"You've never really loved Jess." Matt states, so solemnly that Dom can only nod.

_"Just like I never really loved Gaia, at the very end."_ Matt thinks, as he focuses on his best friend.

"Besides, you shouldn't be so upset about it. After all, it was a mutual decision, between Gaia and you." Chris points out, wisely.

Matthew jumps and puts his head in his hands, sighing heavily as he stares at the floor.

"I said it was a mutual decision, but I lied. It was Gaia who decided to leave me." he confesses.

_" And I can't blame her, after all."_ he says to himself.

"Really?" Chris looks at him, astonished.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Dominic wonders.

"I have now." Matthew replies.

"Well, it doesn't matter who decided what, the most important thing is that now it's the beginning of a new life for you and it will be a new life that's plenty of wonderful stuff, such as the show at the Holiday Havoc we had tonight." Chris says, cheering him up.

"Yep, it was great, the crowd was amazing." Matt recalls, satisfied.

"Chris is right. And I'm sure that soon you'll find someone to share your new life with. Someone special who will love you the way you deserve to be loved." Dominic adds.

_"You shouldn't even go too far to find this person…"_ he thinks, a little melancholic.

"C'mon, tonight you must only think about having fun. By the way, let's start making orders. I'm starving." Chris comments.

"Sure; after all, for you to eat means to have fun!" Dominic teases him.

"Pretty much!" Chris nods, proudly.

Matt can't help chuckling, watching the scene.

Chris and Dom notice that and they both turn to him, astonished.

"What?" Matt asks them, puzzled.

"You're chuckling." Chris replies.

"You haven't chuckled for ages. You haven't even smiled. I don't mean the plastic smiles you wear during the interviews and in the photo shoots; I mean a real smile, an authentic, genuine one." Dominic adds, happy to see his best friend in a better mood.

"And now I'm smiling a true smile. I'm lucky for having such amazing friends like you, guys!" Matt states.

_" Yeah, friends…"_ Dominic repeats in his mind, grieving.

The waiter comes to take their orders and their chatting goes on, among dishes and glasses of vintage red wine.

Chris and Dom observe Matthew gladly, as he eats his food eagerly. It's another of the things he has rarely done in the past few weeks.

When they're done with their dinner, Chris gets up from the table.

"Guys, I'm leaving you. I've already called a cab, it should be here by now." he informs them.

"So, big guy, are you abandoning us already?" Matt accuses him.

"You know that I need to rest much longer than you do, especially between two concerts." he justifies, as he glances at his watch. "Besides, I'm going to call Kelly. She said she would get up early, waiting for my call." he adds.

"Awww, your wife is so lovely." Dom comments, softened.

"So, Chris, treat her well and never let her go." Matt advises him, thoughtful.

_"You're so lucky, you can be happy with who you really want"_

"Be sure of that." Chris nods, before leaving.

Dom bits his tongue.

_"Damn my bloody mouth. Talking about lovely girls probably made Matt think about Gaia again."_ he figures out, as he observes the brunet, intensely. _"Although I don't know what he found so lovely about her"_ he wonders, as a pang of jealousy hits him.

"So, Matt, here we are. You and me; all alone, mucking around, just like the dear, old, golden times." Dom exclaims, grinning at him.

"I've missed that." Matt smiles sincerely at him.

"Me, too." the blond replies, sweetly.

Dominic is really happy that Matthew remained with him, not only because he can spend some precious time with him alone, but mostly for the fact that he didn't go away on his own, acting in the reckless way he has been acting in the last few weeks.

Because, even more than usually, Matt has been getting scarily drunk, seducing the first girl that meets his eyes, no matter if it's a model, an actress, a waitress, whatever, and disappearing with her all night long, without caring about anything.

And Dominic is getting sadly accustomed to seeing Matt coming back the morning after, with a terrible hangover, pale, starving, with shadows under his eyes. In a word, empty.

What Dom doesn't know is that Matt acts like that because he desperately needs to get lost, in order to free his mind from some thoughts that scare the hell out of him.

Dominic thanks God that, so far Matt has appealed only to alcohol and one-night-stands, but he could decide any moment to resort to something more dangerous and self-destructive.

Plus, the one-night-stands are very unsafe, since Matthew could easily come upon someone ill-intentioned.

Anyway, Dominic doesn't want to think about these worrisome things; at least, not tonight.

"I'm happy you decided to stay tonight, instead of spoiling yourself once again." Dom admits, sipping from his glass.

"You're the medicine to all my troubles." Matt confesses, as he pours the wine into his glass.

_"But at the same time you're the cause of all this!"_ he thinks.

They're drinking a lot and alcohol is letting their inhibitions go.

They increase their closeness as they chat and laugh about their past adventures and memories; soon, Dom finds himself playing with Matt's spiky hair, and the brunet doesn't complain at all.

"Matthew, I can't see you suffering like you have been in the past weeks. You're such a special creature who shouldn't even know what pain is. You should always be happy, carefree and… loved." Dom murmurs as he caresses his nape.

Matt stares at his best friend, his sky-blue eyes getting lost in the green-grey of Dom's.

"Do you really think so?" he asks him, as he leans a bit closer.

"Of course, Matt. I want you to get out of this; I want to help you; I want to be close to you; I want you to be able to rely on me for anything, Matthew." the blond whispers, biting his lips as he stares at Matt's slightly parted lips.

Dom can't resist anymore.

"Anything." he repeats, before covering Matt's mouth with his own.

It's a kiss that doesn't even need to disguise itself as a shy and clumsy attempt, because Matt immediately answers to it, kissing Dom back with greediness, intensity, passion and… joy.

They both close their eyes and don't seem to care about the fact that they're still in a public place. After all, the restaurant is about to close, all the waiters are busy doing their chores and there's almost no one else left.

Plus, Matt and Dom are in a kind of private area, isolated from the rest of the customers.

They've drunk enough to behave so impulsively, but not enough to not be perfectly aware of what they're doing.

Their kiss goes on, as it turns more and more demanding and starts to involve exploring tongues and hands, until the realization hits one of them.

Matt starts to work something out, no matter if it's something terribly wrong.

_"Dom is kissing me. I'm kissing him back. And he's letting me do that. Wait. He's drunk; he must be completely pissed. The sober Dom would never ever do such a thing. I just can't take advantage of the situation."_ he establishes, stopping the kiss abruptly and parting from him.

He stares at Dominic with pure terror in his eyes and a huge guilty sense.

"This 's not good. This 's not fair." he babbles, before running away, leaving Dom alone and confused.

Too bad that the blond analyzes what happened and jumps to the most mistaken conclusion ever.

_"I tried to kiss him and he kissed me back, but it's only because he's bloody drunk. But he rejected me, out of the blue. And if he rejected me even in his drunk state, it means that I don't have even a single chance with his sober version."_ he realizes, saddening.

He gets up from the table, pays the bill and leaves the restaurant, as he has only one main concern in his mind.

_"How the hell am I supposed to act with Matt tomorrow… which is already today?"_

Hidden in the shadows, someone has observed the whole scene, hearing everything, even their inner thoughts and desires.

TBC


	2. I: My trust in you has been abused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confidences and memories…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is taken from ‘Host’ lyrics, by Muse.
> 
>  
> 
> Warning: language, Solo!Matt. Slightly NC-17. Besides, the writing in bold is flashback.

Chapter I: My trust in you has been abused.

 

A few minutes after Dominic left the restaurant, a beautiful young girl who looks nothing more than twenty-five years old, gets up from a table nearby and follows his example.

 

Once she is out, she looks for her mobile in her bag, taking it and dialling a familiar number.

 

She doesn’t have to wait for long for the other person to answer.

 

“Hallo?” a male, silky voice asks.

 

“Guess what?”

 

“You managed to get into the concert, didn’t you?” he guesses.

 

“No way. No ticket, no show. It’s fair,” she states.

 

“Well, you know that there was a solution,” he hints.

 

“Of course I know, but I already told you, Michael, when it’s about Muse I play fair. After all, I have got the tickets for the tomorrow’s show, can’t wait!” she exults.

 

“So what happened that’s so extraordinary?” he wonders.

 

“I managed to find out where they would go after the show and I followed them. I was in the same restaurant and I watched them for the whole time!” she explains.

 

“Alright, finally you saw them, so there’s no need to go to their show tomorrow,” he says.

 

“Michael, don’t even try. You know how much it means to me. Besides, believe me, their shows are something incredible, you’re going to like it a lot,” she assures.

 

“We’ll see, Rachel,” he replies.

 

“Anyway, there’s more. Tonight something happened, something big,” she informs him. “You know there were some rumours about Matt and Dom, aka the frontman and the drummer, plus all the stuff about them on the web, so I also started to believe that there could be something between them for real,” she goes on.

 

“The multimedia era spoiled everything, look at you, believing in such crap!” Michael rolls his eyes.

 

“But it’s not crap, it’s true. They are in love, desperately. They’re so cute. Their feeling is mutual, but they don’t know it and probably they’ve been going on like that for _years_. It’s better than a soap-opera!” she chuckles, but then she turns serious. “Anyway, one of them is acting very recklessly and I’m kind of worried for him,” she comments. “Michael, I need you to do me a favour.” she adds.

 

“If it’s about the show, I already told you yes, I’m going to take you there, even if it will bore the hell out of me!” he snorts.

 

“No, Michael, I mean another kind of favour, _that_ kind of favour,” she points out.

 

“What? You can’t ask me that!” he protests.

 

“Oh, c’mon, it’s important to me. After all, you would do anything for me, wouldn’t you?” she insists.

 

“I just can’t help it. OK, baby, I’ll do it for you, happy now?” he gives in.

 

“I love you, Michael,” she grins.

 

“I love you, Rachel. And I miss you, can’t wait ‘till tomorrow,” he ends the conversation.

 

Satisfied, Rachel puts her mobile back in her bag, before seeing a young man wandering all alone in an alley.

 

_“Alright, now let’s have dinner”_ she thinks, passing her tongue over her now elongated canines as her eyes flash fuchsia in anticipation, as she approaches her prey.

 

******************************** (In the meantime)

 

Dominic comes back to the hotel and, with a quick pace, he crosses the threshold of the elevator and lets the sliding doors close in front of him.

Once he reaches his room, he lies on his bed, staring at the ceiling, as he recalls the most important event of the night.

 

He still can taste Matt’s flavour on his lips and he’s already addicted to that flavour, maybe also because it tastes wild and forbidden.

 

Anyway, Dominic can’t keep it secret any longer.

 

He can’t go to Chris or Tom’s room and wake them up, but he wouldn’t go to them if they were awake, either.

 

Truth is that, although they are the best friends he could ask for, they’re not ready to accept such a revelation.

 

Lucky for Dom, there’s someone else he can talk to, someone who not only already knows everything, but even helped him figure out his feelings for Matthew.

 

He glances at the alarm clock. It’s 2:00 a.m., which means that in England it’s 10:00 a.m..

 

_“Yep, she will surely be up. “_ he thinks as he takes his mobile and dials a number.

 

“Hallo?” a female voice asks at the second ring.

 

“Emma, it’s me,” Dom says.

 

“Dom, how are you? Are you guys having fun in Las Vegas?” his sister asks him.

 

“Too much I guess,” Dom mutters, so quietly that she can barely hear him.

 

“Dom, are you OK?” she asks in concern.

 

“It’s 2:00 a.m., we’re going to leave for Los Angeles in a few hours and I should be asleep, but I can’t. Do I sound OK to you?”

 

“You’re still thinking about Matthew, aren’t you?” she figures out.

 

“Yeah, but it’s not only thoughts. Tonight something happened, something big: we kissed,” he announces.

 

“Dominic, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you!” Emma rejoices.

 

“Don’t be. I didn’t tell you the whole truth. I kissed him and he let me do that, but only because he was completely drunk, so when he realized what he was really doing, he ran away, disgusted and scared,” he confesses. “Emma, it’s a tragedy. He won’t talk to me anymore. I fucked up our friendship forever!” he states, his voice broken.

 

“Nikky, please, dear, calm down,” Emma attempts to comfort him.

 

Dom smiles, hearing that name.

She is the only who calls him that, affectionately, since when they were kids, and she’s the only one who can call Dom that.

 

“Let’s analyse the whole thing. Step by step. You kissed him and he didn’t reject you immediately, he accepted it,” she makes him notice.

 

“So do you mean he rejected me because I’m a bad kisser?” he asks her, disappointed.

 

“Dom, stop being a baby. I didn’t say that. I said that he kissed you. No matter how much you drink, you can’t kiss someone if you don’t feel a tiny attraction for him, at least a little bit,” she explains.

 

“I don’t think so. When I’m so drunk that I can’t even recall my own name, I guess I could kiss anyone or anything… and not only kiss,” he comments.

 

“Eeeww! Dominic James Howard, let me remind you that I’m your sister!” she says, rolling her eyes.

 

“Uh, sorry. However, if you think he was somehow attracted to me, then why did he run away?” he interrogates her.

 

“I don’t know… maybe he didn’t like not the kiss itself, but the fact that you were drunk,” she hypothesizes.

 

“No, please, Emma, stop giving me false hope. Truth is that I’m aiming for something, or rather someone, that I won’t ever get,” he admits.

 

“I’m so sorry, Dom, I know how much Matt means to you; I realised that you didn’t see him as a simple friend right after our father died. Matt was the only one you wanted around, it had to mean something,” she recalls.

 

“As a matter of fact, when you interrogated me so insistently about that, I couldn’t lie, not to you. And I still can’t believe you accepted everything so easily.”

 

“You’re my brother, and I will always love you, no matter what. Besides, you’re free to make your choices. I just would like to see you happy,” she sighs.

 

“As long as I’m around Matt, I’m happy. That’s why now I’m so scared I’ve lost him forever,” he murmurs.

 

“Well, maybe things are not as terrible as you see them,” she comments.

 

“What do you mean?” he frowns.

 

“Where’s Matt now?”

 

“Well, he will be God only knows where, acting restlessly… and it’s just my fault, since I made him run away.”

 

“Stop saying it’s your fault. I’m sure he will be fine. However, the next time you see him, pretend you don’t remember anything,” Emma advises her brother.

 

“What?”

 

“You heard me. After all, you said you were both drunk.”

 

“Yeah, but I sobered up immediately after his rejection,” Dom grumbles.

 

“But Matt doesn’t know that, so you can pretend. Maybe he’s so drunk that he won’t remember it for real,” she ponders.

 

“I don’t want him to forget,” he sighs.

 

“I said ‘maybe.’ He could remember everything very well. But you must act as if you don’t. You said you want to save your friendship, right? Do as I say, then. He’ll just see it as something stupid you did under the effect of alcohol. It’s like turning back time,” his sister persuades him.

 

“You’re right. That’s the best thing to do. Thank you, Emma,” he smiles.

 

“What sisters are for? Now, sleep, Nikky, you need it,” she says, hanging up and Dom listens to her.

 

******************************* (In the meantime)

 

Dom is wrong.

Matthew is not outside, trying to lose himself.

Dominic can’t even begin to imagine that his oh so special friend is mirroring his actions.

 

Matthew lies down on the bed, in his own room, closing his eyes to recall the kiss better.

 

He can’t believe it happened for real. When Dom placed his mouth on his own lips, for Matthew it was as if there was a legendary genius around who had granted his biggest wish.

 

_“Too bad that the only reason Dom did it is too much alcohol,”_ he thinks.

 

Matthew lied to everyone. He’s not upset because Gaia left him, but the consequences of that.

 

Because to Matthew, Gaia meant one thing only: stability.

 

As long as he was with her, he managed to push away some certain, dangerous thoughts about Dominic that had nothing to do with friendship.

 

He can’t recall the exact moment when he started to feel like that for his best friend, but he can constantly remind himself how wrong it is.

 

So whenever Matthew felt that he couldn’t hold on any longer and was about to do something desperately crazy, he ran to Gaia or begged her to reach him, wherever he was.

 

This way Gaia had always felt beloved and desired by him.

 

Everything had gone so well, until Matthew lowered his guard and Gaia found out the truth.

 

He remembers everything in the clearest details, after all it happened nothing more than a month before.

 

 

**Matthew was home, enjoying some days of rest from the tour.**

**Tom tried to invite him to his house with Chris and Dom, but he had preferred to come back to Como, because he needed some time alone.**

 

**Gaia was away for work, so he really could be alone.**

 

**He spent the whole first day sleeping, in order to get some rest from the adrenaline of the previous shows, but on the second day, after doing some chores to keep his mind busy, he sat at his desk, switching his computer on.**

 

**On his desktop there was a folder named ‘Me with the guys’ that contained tons of pictures of Chris, Tom, Dom and Matt around the world, tour after tour, year after year.**

 

**Matthew spent some time looking through the pictures with a smile. Some of them were spread around the web, but some of them were unpublished and personal.**

 

**Matt took his digital camera, plugging it into the computer and downloading the new pictures he had taken in the last shows, adding them to the folder.**

 

**Once it was done, he closed the folder and, through a complicated and long path, he reached a very well hidden folder, named ‘Undisclosed Desires’.**

 

**Contrary to the previous one, this folder was full of pictures of Dominic only; there were thousands of pictures, some were cut from group pictures, some were taken from Dom’s own photo-shoots, some were pictures that Matt had taken of him, without Dom realizing it.**

 

**Matthew focused on one of those ‘stolen’ pictures. He had taken it during one of their last rehearsals. Dom was performing a drum solo and he was playing frantically, his golden hair was messy, his eyes focused on the drums, his lips parted as he tried to catch his breath.**

 

**_“So fucking beautiful,”_** **Matt thought, before feeling the urge to lower the zip of his jeans, unbuttoning them.**

 

**It wasn’t the first time he’d done it and surely it wouldn’t be the last.**

**Once he discarded his boxers, he started to caress his cock, along its length, as he kept staring at the picture, pretending it was Dom doing those things to him.**

 

**_“This is the only way I can have you.”_** **Matt thought as he increased the rhythm, pumping harder and faster.**

 

**He didn’t even remotely hear someone unlocking the front door and walking upstairs, step by step.**

 

**“Hey, are you sure you don’t need any help down there, naughty boy?” Gaia exclaimed, chuckling, as she approached her boyfriend.**

 

**Matthew jumped, stopping his activity instantly, rearranging himself and rushing to close the picture, but it was too late.**

 

**Gaia’s amused expression faded away, replaced by utter shock and anger.**

 

**“Oh… my God! What… what the hell are you doing?” she screamed.**

 

**“Gaia, I can explain…” he stuttered.**

 

**“Explain what? You were masturbating in front of the picture of your best friend, your _male_ best friend! You’re disgusting,” she hissed as she snatched the mouse from his hand, checking out the whole folder.**

 

**“Oh my God. There are pictures of Dom everywhere. You sodding pervert, you’re obsessed with him, you’re sick!” she yelled at him, before pulling out the plug with a violent, unsafe tug.**

 

**She had seen too much.**

 

**Matthew didn’t even dare to reply.**

 

**“And to think that I came back earlier to surprise you, instead you have a huge surprise for me. Such a horrible, revolting, ruthless surprise,” she went on.**

**“So how long have you and Dom been making a fool of me… and probably of Jess, too, when she was with him?” she questioned him.**

 

**“No, Gaia, we have never…” he attempted to explain, getting up and approaching her, but she backed off.**

 

**“Stay the fuck away from me! You make me sick!” she roared.**

 

**“However, no one has ever made a fool of anyone. Dom doesn’t… he doesn’t know,” he informed her.**

 

**“So do you think that this is supposed to comfort me?” she snapped. “Fuck you, Matthew, I don’t give a fuck if it’s physical or not. You betrayed me, probably more than once. Am I right?” she asked him, as tears started to fall from her eyes.**

 

**Matthew didn’t face her gaze but confined himself to nodding.**

 

**“Tell me, Matt, how long has this been going on? How long have you been feeling this way for Dom?” she questioned him, her voice broken with rage.**

 

**Matthew couldn’t find the strength to answer.**

 

**“That’s why you didn’t want to take a step closer in our relationship. Nine fucking years together for what? I gave myself to you, I gave you my heart, my life, my trust… and this how you repay me!” she went on, hysterically.**

 

**“Please, Gaia, don’t say that, you’re important to me,” he cut her off, as a guilty conscience grew inside him.**

 

**“Well, not enough, Matthew, not enough. You even bought me a ring, that’s true, but for what? If it doesn’t mean anything to you, it means nothing to me, either. Here, take it fucking back!” she yelled as she took it off, throwing it at him in contempt, and then she got closer to him, raising his chin to force him to stare at her.**

 

**“At least tell me, Matt, did you ever really love me?” she asked him, sobbing.**

 

**“I… I can’t give you the answer,” he admitted with tears in his eyes.**

 

**She gave him a sad smile.**

 

**“I guess you just did.” she stated, parting from him.**

 

**“That’s the perfect picture, isn’t that? Since I’ve already packaged my bags, I don’t even have to gather my stuff. Now I’ll go, but you must be gone when I get back in a couple of days,” she told him as she took her bags and left the room.**

 

**“Gaia, wait!” he ran towards her.**

 

**“Wait for what? Can’t you see? I’ve wasted all my time with you. I don’t want to waste a single minute more. I don’t want to see you ever again, you must disappear from my life, as I’ll disappear from yours,” she said, coldly.**

 

**“Gaia, I’m so sorry, I didn’t want things to go like this between us… but I can’t help it,” he cried. “I’m sorry. Anyway, keep the house, that’s right. And I can give you money, too, but please don’t tell…”**

 

**“Do you really think that I could do such a thing? I don’t want your money; I don’t want to blackmail you. Oh, Matthew, after nine years together you don’t know me at all,” she replied, upset. “Contrary to you, I’ve really loved you and maybe I still do,” she confessed, doing her best not to burst out crying.**

 

**“So, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about that, I won’t tell your special friend, either. But now you have got to let me go and let me learn how to forget you. It’s over, Matthew,” she informed him as she left.**

 

 

“Well, sooner or later it would’ve been over anyway,” Matthew thinks out loud, before falling asleep.

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, a vampire fan-girl… did you expect that? ;)
> 
>  
> 
> And yaaaay, this is the very first flashback scene I wrote, cool! ;)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you’ll still like it. I know, I know, once again it was pretty angsty… gee, I’m sick of writing angst stuff, but it’s necessary for the story.
> 
>  
> 
> I promise that comedy will start in the next chapter… at least I hope.
> 
>  
> 
> Fell free to tell me everything, as always.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for your time.


	3. II: I'll show you what you really need.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew receives an offer that he can't refuse…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to whoever is reading it ^^
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Shrinking Universe' lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter II: I'll show you what you really need.

"Take it," Matt says, putting a bunch of bank notes next to Dom's cup of latte, reaching the blond as he's having breakfast.

"For what?" Dom asks Matt, puzzled, as the brunet sits close to him at the table.

"For what you did last night," Matt explains, as he pours some orange juice into his glass.

That gives the drummer a lot to think about.

" _He's paying me for what I did last night… did he mistake me for a sort of… whore? Wait. Whores get paid when they offer another kind of performance, more elaborated performances. Gee, am I so good that I can get paid for a kiss only?"_ he ponders, as he stares at the bank notes.

_"300 bucks, is it the value for my kiss?"_ he silently wonders, insulted and thrilled at the same time.

"Hey, Dom, are you still here on Planet Earth?" Matt tries to wake his best friend up from his trance, as he shakes his shoulder, gently.

"Huh?" the drummer recovers, looking at Matt.

"I paid you for last night." the frontman repeats, as he just stares at his own slice of chocolate cake, unwilling to eat it.

"I see that. Saving the fact that I don't want to be paid for it, isn't it way too much?" the blond asks Matt.

"I don't know, after all I ate a full dinner, besides, the wine was very expensive. So I guess that this should be my part of the bill. You can keep the rest, I don't care. And quit saying you don't want to be paid, you always pay for everything. For once, I don't just want to pay my part, but next time I'll pay for dinner," Matt states and insists until Dom takes the money.

_"Oh. He paid me for the dinner!"_ Dom realises. _"Maybe he doesn't even remember the kiss. Anyway, I'm going to follow Emma's advice,"_ he decides.

"Why? Didn't you pay your part of the bill yesterday?" Dom asks the brunette, pretending to be astonished.

"What? Nope, don't you remember? I ran away, so I didn't," Matt explains, confused.

"Did you run away? Why?" Dom questions him, tilting his head to one side.

_"Oh my, he forgot it all!"_ Matt figures out.

"Did I say I ran away? Well, you know me, I tend to exaggerate. I meant that I felt tired and I wanted to come back to the hotel, so I called a cab, leaving you there alone, and in the rush I forgot to pay my part of the bill," the singer explains... or rather, lies. "So you don't remember anything about last night, do you?" he asks Dom for confirmation.

"I recall the dinner, Chris leaving at the end and then ... tabula rasa," Dom confesses... or rather, lies.

"Oh," Matthew mumbles.

_"And to think that I was ready to apologise to him, for taking advantage of his drunken state. Well, it seems that there's no need anymore,"_ he reckons.

"So you said that you came back to the hotel. Didn't you go out, acting wildly?" Dom questions him.

"Nope, I didn't feel like doing that. I preferred to be alone... with my thoughts," the brunet replies.

_"And dream all night long about our kiss, which you don't even remember. I guess I should be happy for that... but I'm not,"_ Matt grieves.

"Good to know," Dom nods.

_"So it seems that my kiss did something good, after all,"_ Dominic smiles to himself, before noticing how upset Matt is.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the blond asks the singer.

_"Maybe he's sad, because I said that I don't remember anything. So did our kiss mean something for him as well? Oh, please, Matthew, just give me a sign and I'll be more than glad to prove you how much that kiss meant to me!"_ Dominic ponders, as he starts filling his heart with hope.

"Huh? Nothing. I'm just pissed off, because we have the flight to catch and we must do everything in a rush, we're already late!" Matthew answers promptly, resorting to the first barely believable excuse that his mind suggests to him.

_"Oh, it's only because of that,"_ Dom loses instantly his ghostly hope.

"You're right, we must hurry up, Chris and Tom already called a cab and they're waiting for us," the drummer agrees, getting up from the table, and Matt mirrors his actions.

Before leaving the room, the singer wraps his arm around his best friend's neck.

"C'mon, let's cheer up, we're going to conquer Los Angeles tonight!" he says, grinning and hugging Dom.

Probably the pure fact that he's hugging Dom is the main reason why Matt is grinning so much, but Dom beams as well.

_"I was so afraid we wouldn't be this close anymore!"_ they both think at the same time.

"Alright, and after the show we're going to party all night long!" Dom suggests, patting Matt's shoulder.

"Damn sure, we're going to have lots of fun. Now let's get the bloody airplane!" Matt incites the blond as they leave.

_"That's it. Our friendship is safe. I managed to turn back time,"_ Dom thinks, somewhat relieved, but not entirely happy about it.

Muse have just finished performing a very powerful version of 'Uprising', the song they chose to open their concert at KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas with.

"Good evening, L.A.! Are you feeling alright?" Matt welcomes the crowd and the people scream their positive answer.

"Fucking good!" Matthew smiles, before nodding to Chris and Dom.

A few seconds after they start playing 'Supermassive Black Hole', sending the crowd crazy all over again.

In the first rows of people, in the middle, a certain someone is enjoying the show much more than he could ever have guessed.

"They're awesome, they're great, they're brilliant!" Michael exclaims, excited, as he follows the rhythm, waving his perfect, muscular body. "Rachel, why didn't you tell me they were so fucking good?" he asks his girlfriend.

"I've tried, but you never listen to me!" she strikes back as she dances, enthralled by the groove of that song.

"I was sure you would drag me to listen to a lame, sappy, boy-band," he justifies.

"You should trust in your Queen a little bit more," she states.

"Yep, I should," he nods, as he wraps his arms around her waist, swinging with her. "You know, seeing you moving like this is making me have tons of wicked, kinky and dirty ideas," he whispers into her ear, biting her lobe 'til he draws blood.

She growls in answer, as she can clearly feel the effect that the closeness, the situation and the song are having on him.

"Oh, Michael, you almost make me want to do a massacre to be here alone with you, listening to them," she murmurs, turning to him to capture his lips in a passionate kiss.

"We could, if you want," he moans between kisses.

"Nope, we can't, you know that," she replies resolutely, parting from him. "Now, behave," she orders him and he obliges.

"However, do you see the singer? That's our target," she instructs her boyfriend.

"Yeah, although he doesn't strike me as someone who is suffering," Michael comments.

"You know what? He disguises it perfectly when he's absorbed in music, but I know what I saw and what I heard. He's suffering and he's destroying himself, day by day. We're going to stop him, before it's too late. You already know what to do," she states.

"You're right. After all, I already like that guy. He definitely deserves to belong to our kind," he smiles at her.

On stage, Muse are playing the instrumental part before the final chorus and, since Matthew is treating his guitar as if it was his lover, with his eyes shut and his tongue bathing his faintly parted lips, Dom is having a hard time, but he tries his best not to skip a single drum beat, although his heart has skipped more than a beat after that vision.

What Dom doesn't know is that Matt, in his mind, is placing himself with his oh so unattainable best friend, having a great time with him.

Chris just plays and nods with his head to keep the rhythm, as his mind drifts to the end of the show, when he'll finally have his more than deserved beer.

The concert goes on and song after song, even with some acoustic versions which Michael appreciates very much, the show reaches its end, with a fantastic performance of 'Take A Bow'.

Matthew thanks and greets the crowd, Dominic talks a little bit longer, Chris confines himself to waving his hand and smiling.

Michael and Rachel keep their eyes focussed on them. After exchanging an understanding look, Michael leaves and Rachel follows a bunch of girls who want to reach the backstage area.

Contrary to the other girls, for Rachel to persuade the security staff to let her in is a piece of cake.

Muse are relaxing, sitting on the sofa, drinking beer, talking with Tom, some technicians and the guys of their crew.

They've already changed their clothes; at least Matt has, since a jacket and a pair of trousers covered with lights are not very comfortable items to wear.

Matt is laughing because of something Dom has said, but all the men in the room fall silent as soon as they see a petite brunette making her entrance.

No one wonders how the hell she managed to reach that private area; they all just stare at her, bewitched. After all, she's awesome.

Her long, smooth, black hair waves gently every time she takes a step closer with a charming elegance.

She stops a few inches from the sofa where Matthew sits, gesturing to him with her index finger to get closer to her, and Matthew accepts that invitation.

"Do you want to experience something you've never tried before, something unforgettable, something that is going to leave a mark forever?" she whispers in his ear.

"Yes!" Matthew answers, without even thinking twice.

There's something extremely dangerous in that beautiful stranger which makes him shiver, but at the same time he feels attracted to that, like a magnet.

Her violet eyes sparkle with satisfaction.

"Follow me, then," she says, taking his hand.

Matthew is about to leave with her, but Dom gets up and walks towards them.

"Matt! Where are you going? Don't you remember? You said we would party together all night long," he reminds Matt, staring at the girl with hostility in his eyes as a pang of jealousy hits him once again.

" _She's taking my Matthew away!"_ he thinks, surprising himself because of the use of that possessive adjective.

"I know, Dom, I'm sorry; we'll party another time. Now I've got to go," the brunet says to him.

The girl walks towards the blond, who almost feels the need to back off, but he doesn't.

"Don't worry, puppy; after all, I'm doing this for you, too," she winks at him, ruffling his hair affectionately, before departing with Matt.

Confused, Dom turns back to Tom and Chris.

"I knew she would pick Matt up, that guy is always so lucky with the girls!" Tom snorts.

"He's the frontman, so he's the most sought after one. Well, this is going to cheer him up for sure," Chris chuckles. "If he doesn't act recklessly again, that is," he adds, in concern.

"I don't think so. Don't ask me why, but I've got the feeling that Matthew is safe," Dom murmurs as he stares into the void, absorbed in his thoughts.

" _What the hell did she mean with that sentence?"_

After a short trip in a cab, where finally Rachel introduces herself to Matthew, chatting with him about the show and music in general, they reach their destination: an abandoned and dismal house.

Matthew doesn't feel much at ease.

"Do you live here?" he asks her, in disbelief.

"It's a big thing to say that I _live_ here," she giggles. "I mean, I'm temporarily staying here. Why, are you afraid to come in?" she challenges him.

"Of course, I'm not. C'mon, show me the way," he replies, gulping.

Rachel opens the door and crosses the threshold, walking through the corridor. A little bit hesitantly, Matthew follows her until they reach a door which Matt supposes leads to the bedroom.

The frontman is right, because once Rachel opens it, he can see a large bed, a night table, a cupboard and a desk: typical of a bedroom.

Too bad that there's also a guy, who is staring at him.

Matt must admit to himself that he's a gorgeous man: around thirty years old, tall, athletic, Hispanic. He has curly brown hair with blond highlights and deep, mesmerising black eyes that are peering at the Englishman.

Rachel smiles at the mysterious guy and approaches him sensually, sealing their lips with a passionate kiss.

"Matthew, meet my boyfriend, Michael," she says, turning to the pianist, as she rests her head on her lover's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, Matthew," Michael smirks.

Matthew keeps silent, until he jumps to the wrong conclusion.

"No way! Dom, maybe, but I'm not the kind of guy who likes a threesome," he snaps, ready to go, but, with a quickness that impresses Matt a lot, Michael places himself in front of the singer, locking the door.

"It's not very polite to leave so soon," he comments wittily, as he makes his guest back off until he falls on the bed.

"Anyway, don't worry, Matt, no threesome. Only Michael will do the job," Rachel informs him.

Matt opens his eyes wide.

"What? That's even worse. No bloody way! I don't do stuff with men!" he protests.

" _Yeah, Matt, tell yourself the fairytale story. Don't you remember_ _ **who**_ _you kissed last night? But he's not 'men'. He's my Dominic. Dammit! Did I really say 'my'? Oh, God, I'm hopeless!"_ the pianist ponders, before noticing that the creepy couple is looking at him, amused.

"See? He's obsessed, I told you so," Rachel comments and Michael nods with a smirk.

Matthew stares puzzled at them, wondering what the hell they're talking about.

" _Because there's not even a single chance that they heard my thoughts… is there?"_ he asks himself, very doubtful.

"No, dear, you misunderstood. I didn't mean anything sexual. Are you joking? I would be as jealous as hell!" Rachel explains.

"Matthew, please, could you be a little more scared?" Michael asks courteously.

"I... I swear that I'm fucking terrified… I'm... I'm sorry if it doesn't seem so," the guitarist stutters, trembling and backing off until his back hits the wall.

"Good. It's more fun this way," Michael sneers evilly. "Anyway, calm down, you have nothing to fear," he informs him.

"But you just said…" Matt babbles, confused.

"Oh, don't mind at him, dear. My Sire can be so contradictory sometimes!" Rachel explains, rolling her eyes.

" _Sire?"_ Matt repeats in his mind, even more confused, but he prefers not to ask about it.

"Are you… are you a fan?" the Englishman asks Michael.

"I am, from tonight on," Michael smirks.

"But you won't be satisfied with my autograph only… am I right?" the rock star figures out.

"You're right. Let's say that I need something else from you, but mostly I want to give you something back," the other explains.

"Do you have a gift for me? Fans always overflow me with gifts… but they don't trap me in their rooms," Matt grumbles.

"Hey! It's you who decided to follow me, I didn't force you and, trust me, I could have forced you," Rachel points out. "However, yep, we have a gift for you, but our gift is not like the others. It's very precious and ancient," she informs her guest.

"Is it an antique?" Matt wonders, naively.

Michael starts losing his already short patience.

"Wrong answer. Try again!" he growls, as his eyes flash silvery, showing Matt his fangs, which makes the singer scream, panic-stricken.

"Who… what the hell are you two?" he yells, trying to escape, but Michael holds him still on the bed.

"We're going to teach you a good lesson. We know what you've been doing in the latest weeks, acting recklessly, like you just don't care. You're attempting to destroy yourself, little by little, inexorably. This is not good, neither for you nor for all the people who care about you," Rachel comments, astonishing her listener. "Well, Matthew, to lose your life will teach you to respect it better, next time," she concludes.

"Lo… lose my life?" Matt trembles, even more when he feels Michael smelling his neck.

"You heard it right," Michael sneers, as he gets ready to bite.

"You know, I would do the job myself, but Michael is so jealous, he doesn't want me to turn any guy. I can only use them as prey," she explains.

"Tu.. turn?" the human repeats with a feeble voice, right before Michael sinks his fangs into Matt's neck.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cruel cliff-hanger, I know ! * laughs evilly *
> 
> Hope you'll still like it, but feel free to tell me everything, really! ^^


	4. III: Link it to the world, link it to yourself, stretch it like it's a birth squeeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'New Born' lyrics, by Muse.
> 
> Summary of the chapter: Matthew deals with the consequences of what happened.

Chapter III: Link it to the world, link it to yourself, stretch it like it's a birth squeeze.

Laboriously, Matthew opens his eyes, taking a look around and realising he's all alone.

It takes him a while to recall where he is, as his head is spinning like hell.

" _Why am I still here? Did I fall asleep? All I remember is that I followed that girl, Rachel, here and she introduced me to her boyfriend and… gee, I don't remember what the fuck happened_!" he thinks, confused, massaging his temples with one hand, before realizing that his other hand is holding something: a folded sheet of paper.

He sits on the bed and opens the sheet, reading it.

'Matthew, I know that now you will be all scared, puzzled, with a thousands questions in your head,'

"Damn right!" he says out loud, as he keeps reading.

'Well, all your questions will be answered if you come to us tonight, at the same place, but come before midnight, it's very important, ten minutes to midnight would be just perfect. Please, Matt, come to us, it's essential. At the very end, I know you will, because you need it,' he goes on reading.

His rationality is suggesting him to ignore the message and keep himself as far away as he can from that creepy couple, but his instinct, the most primeval part of him, is telling him that he can trust them completely, and Matt has always followed his instinct.

'Just another thing, Matt, the main one: don't you dare take off the pendant we gave you, for no reason ever!' he reads, stopping to get up and walking towards the mirror upon the desk, in order to examine himself better.

Around his neck there's a rubber necklace with a pendant. Matthew analyses it.

It's an oriental symbol; he has probably seen tons of merchandise with that symbol on during their tour in China. It's the Yin and Yang symbol, half black, half white, circle shaped.

He touches it, to feel the material; it seems to be plastic, but it's not. It must be something ancient, rare, mystic.

" _Well, they said they had a gift for me, an antique, precious gift, maybe that's what they talked about. After all it's nice, I'm going to keep it,"_ he thinks, as some, confusing, blurred, vague memories of last night painstakingly pop in his mind.

" _I attempted to escape, but they locked the door and shoved me on the bed… and then?"_ he wonders, grabbing the sheet to get more information.

'I guess that's all, for now. I really hope to see you tonight; you can't even begin to imagine how important it is, Matthew. Take care. Rachel. P.S. Michael says you taste very good.' he finishes reading.

The last sentence makes him panic-stricken.

" _What the fuck does it mean? They said there wouldn't be anything sexual, especially with Michael! What the bloody, fucking, sodding hell happened last night?"_ he asks himself, as he tears the sheet to pieces, so frustrated that he gives out a growl… but it's a feral, animal growl… a sound that can not be considered human.

" _Holy shit! Was that me, for real? Nah, it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, I'm stressed, it's only that,"_ Matt persuades himself, scared, adding the umpteenth question to his already long, mental list.

" _Hell yeah, I'm coming back here tonight. Those two freaks must explain every-bloody-thing to me!"_ he decides.

Right now he doesn't have time for more questions, he has just got to go. After all, it's 10:00 a.m. and his mobile has been switched off since the beginning of the show, so everyone will be searching for him.

Matt decides that the first wise thing to do is to switch on his mobile and let the others know that he's fine. For some strange reason, he chooses to call just Dominic.

"Matthew, is it you? Where are you? Are you OK? Are you alone?" a very agitated and apprehensive Dom gives Matt the third degree, answering immediately at the first ring.

"Yes, it's me, yes, I'm alone and yes, I'm OK," Matthew replies.

" _More or less,"_ he adds mentally.

"Don't worry, it's just that I lost track of time. As soon as I figure out where the hell I am now, I'm going to call a cab and come back to the hotel," the brunet calms the blond down.

"Alright. I know it's true that we have a whole free day here, because we're leaving tomorrow, but it's not a good reason to disappear the way you did!" the drummer reproaches his best friend.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll be back in a while. See you later. Cheers." Matt hangs up as he checks the pockets in his black jacket, his blue shirt and his black jeans.

" _OK, at least they are not robbers, since there's nothing missing,"_ he thinks, before leaving the dismal house.

If only he checked things a little more carefully, he would find out that actually there _is_ something missing: his heartbeat.  
  
 

"Matthew! I was so damn worried about you!" Dom exclaims as he runs into Matt, hugging him tight, as soon as the singer sets foot in the hall of the hotel about twenty minutes later.

Matt enjoys that sensation, hugging Dom back, as he inhales the fragrance of his Christian Dior shampoo, rosemary, cypress and musk, and the aroma of his skin, white musk with notes of amber.

Matthew has never paid so much attention to Dom's scent, but mostly he has never smelled anything so well and so intensely, as if his sense of smell had been amplified somehow.

Beside, there's another scent, stronger than everything, that is trickling into Matt's nostrils and making him feel dizzy and dazed, but he can't figure out what it is.

"Gee, Matt, you're so cold!" Dom observes, parting from him, in concern. "What's wrong? Have you spent the whole night outside, wandering through the streets?" he asks the brunet.

" _I guess it would have been safer if I had,"_ Matt ponders.

"More or less, truth is that I spent the night in a house that wasn't very warm or cosy," he justifies.

"And you're so pale. Well, why am I so surprised? You're always pale," Dominic goes on. "Alright, Matt, now do me a favour: go to your room and have a long, warm bath. You'll feel better after that," he goes on. "When you're done, come to Chris' room where me and the guys will be, we have to discuss some issues for the show in Seattle," he informs his best friend.

Still a little puzzled, Matt registers all the information in his brain, nods and goes to his room, following Dom's advice.

About half an hour later, in a better mood, Matt reaches his friends to Chris' room.

"Well, Bells, you should have seen Dom yesterday, when you left with that girl, he was all calm and sure that everything was fine; but this morning, when he realised you hadn't come back yet, he was hyper-agitated!" Chris explains, chuckling.

"By the way, did you have fun with that beautiful girl?" Tom asks the guitarist.

"Well, I can say that it was a very interesting encounter. Impressive," Matt replies, telling nothing but the truth.

Hidden from everyone, Dom snorts, annoyed at that revelation, but Matthew notices it.

" _Here we go. I'm sure that he's envying me now, because he wanted her to choose him, instead,"_ the singer jumps to the umpteenth wrong conclusion for the umpteenth time.

"OK, guys, now let's get down to business." Tom incites everyone.

All of the sudden, Matt starts to cover his ears with his hands, bothered by something.

"I think we should open with 'Resistance' this time," Dominic suggests.

Chris and Tom nods as Matt keeps his ears covered, shaking his head.

"Don't you agree, Matt?" Dom asks his best friend, a little upset.

"No, it's not that, quite the contrary, I think it's a great idea to start with that song," Matt replies. "It's just that I can't concentrate with all this terrible noise!" he goes on, pressing harder on his ears.

"Noise?" Chris asks Matt, in disbelief.

"Yeah, c'mon, don't you hear the bloody hoover in the corridor? It's so annoying!" the frontman complains.

"Matthew, there's no hoover in the corridor," Dominic makes the brunet notice, very worried.

"Oh, c'mon, don't be silly. Are you all deaf or what? There's a bloody cleaning lady, using the bloody hoover as she's humming a bloody song!" Matt snaps.

"Wait. Let me check something," Tom announces, leaving.

Ten minutes after, Matt stops covering his ears, relieved, and after a while Tom comes back.

"I asked about it at the reception. You were right, Matt, actually there was a cleaning lady using a hoover on the corridor," Tom informs him. "Too bad that she was on the _first floor_ and we are on the _eight floor!_ " he adds, stunned, just like the others.

"You are joking. It was like she was right behind the door!" Matt protests, frightened.

"Believe me, Matt, it was just the first floor. However, I asked her to stop," Tom answers back.

"Well, after all, you shouldn't be so surprised, I'm a musician, I must have very keen hearing!" Matt justifies.

"Well, Matt, we are musicians as well, but we heard nothing," Chris makes his friend notice, as he points to himself and Dom.

"Well, I'm a musician more than you are," the pianist shrugs. "Anyway, we were discussing the new setlist, weren't we?" he reminds to the others.

"Right," Chris approves, as he gets up and walks to the desk at the opposite side of the room, starting to skim through the pile of sheets of music on the table.

Matt observes him, astonished because, despite the distance, he manages to recognise every single song, catching a glimpse of them, almost as if he had zoomed in with his eyes.

"By the way, I was thinking about a different bass riff to replace the riff at the beginning of 'Knights of Cydonia', just let me find the song," Chris informs his listeners, scattering al the sheets.

"It's the third to last, on the left," Matt states.

Chris follows his friend's instructions and draws out the right sheet of music.

"How the hell did you manage to do that?" Dom asks Matt, dumbfounded.

"It was just a guess; I vaguely remembered where I put it," the frontman lies, without letting anyone notice how scared he is by that.

"See? I always say that he's a damn lucky bloke!" Tom laughs, patting Matt's shoulder.

"Yeah, as I was saying, I made some notes with the pencil at the bottom of the page," Chris explains, but as he grabs the sheet, in order to show it to the others, he's clumsy and ends up cutting his finger with a corner.

"Ouch! Gee, it's nothing serious, thanks God, but it hurts like Hell!" Chris hisses, as he presses the wounded finger and makes blood trickle down from the cut.

Matthew's eyes focus on the cut, as he feels dizzy and dazed once again, but it's stronger than before, and without even realising that, something in his mind is triggered.

Less than half second later, disgusted as he wonders how the hell the singer managed to approach him so quickly, Chris finds Matthew on his knees, with his lips and tongue wrapped around the bassist's wounded finger, as the brunet sucks it like a baby from a feeder, holding it with both hands.

Everyone, Chris above all, stares at Matthew in awe and deep silence.

Dominic felt something else, beyond astonishment.

" _Gee, Chris is always so lucky! I should have cut_ _ **my**_ _finger, so right now Matthew would be sucking_ _ **my**_ _finger, it would be such a nice sensation, and if it feels so good just around the finger, I wonder how it would feel around my… "_ Dom ponders, but he bans his own thoughts, before they reach an 18 rating.

In the meantime, Matt finally works out what he's doing and stops abruptly, getting up and rushing towards the bathroom.

Once he's there, he locks the door and spits the little blood he sucked into the sink, staring at it in confusion, almost regretting spitting it out.

He looks at it one last time, before letting the water wash it away.

He looks at his reflection in the mirror, noticing that he's indeed very pale, even for his own standards.

" _What the fucking hell is wrong with me? And why did the blood taste so… good? "_ he wonders as he passes a hand through his hair, frustrated.

"Hey, Matt, are you OK?" Dom wonders from the other side of the door, knocking.

" _No, I'm not okay, I'm not fucking okay,"_ the guitarist reckons, before sighing and opening the door.

"Yes, Dominic, I'm fine, I'm just tired, I guess," he replies, before walking towards Chris who is still staring at him in a mix of shock and disgust.

"Sorry for before, mate, I don't know what the hell possessed me… probably it's because Mum used to do that when I was a kid, every time I cut or bruised myself," Matt justifies.

"Well, fresh news, Matt, you're _not_ my mum and I'm _not_ a kid. Don't you ever dare to do such a thing!" Chris grumbles.

"I won't," Matt promises, relieved when he sees a plaster on Chris' finger.

" _Good. The less I see blood, the better it is,"_ the singer thinks.

"About tomorrow's show, make all the changes you please, I don't mind, but I guess that now I'll go back to my room. I need some rest. I really do," Matt announces, leaving.  
  
\-----------------------  
 

Matthew didn't lie; he really did need some rest, a lot.

It's almost as if hadn't slept for ages.

It's Dom who wakes him up with a text message, which makes Matt's mobile vibrate in his pocket.

He stirs, pops his eyes open and reads the message.

'Matt, it's 10:00 p.m. Did you get enough rest? Hope to see ya with us for dinner. Dom.'

" _Gee, have I really been sleeping for so long? It's just that I felt so bloody tired,"_ he thinks, before getting up and getting ready to see his friends.

During the dinner, Matt barely touches food, but at least he chats kind of animatedly with everyone, besides, everyone seems to have forgotten the odd events of the morning.

But Matt hasn't.

That's why he keeps glancing at his watch and at 11:30 p.m. he gets up from the table, ready to leave.

"Guys, I have to go, now. See you tomorrow," he announces.

"You're going to see that mysterious girl again, aren't you?" Dom asks.

"Yep, but it's not what you think," Matt replies.

"Why? What do you think that I think? If you found a new girlfriend, congratulations, I'm bloody happy for you!" Dominic snaps.

Matt is a little puzzled by his best friend's behaviour, since the blond almost sounds like a jealous fiancée.

" _Nah, he's still envious, just like this morning. Besides, tomorrow we have the show and he doesn't want me to stay up all night long,"_ he tells himself.

"She's not my new girlfriend and she's already engaged, for the record. And yesterday there was nothing sexual, but I've got to meet her and her boyfriend again, it's important, don't ask me why. Besides, I promise I won't be late," Matt informs him, before leaving.

There's no need to say that Dominic is extremely relieved after that news.

" _She's engaged and she didn't have sex with my Matt. I don't give a damn if he wants to meet her again to do God only knows what, she's engaged and not interested in Matt. God bless that girl!"_ he smiles to himself, pouring the wine into his glass and toasting with the others.

Now Dom has something to celebrate.

At the abandoned house, Rachel keeps walking back and forth, very nervously.

"Gee, honey, please, calm down!" Michael rolls his eyes as he lies down the bed.

"I can't, it's stronger than me, what if somehow he didn't read the message I left for him?" she wonders.

"He read it, because I found the pieces of the sheet we gave him, it must be him who ripped it, after reading," Michael explains.

"Oh. Well, what if he read it and didn't believe a single word? Maybe he took off the pendant, left the house in the morning and… oh, no, I don't even want to think about it," she says, biting her nails.

"Rachel, think about it: he's the frontman of one of the most famous bands in the world, so if something bad had happened to him, all the media would have already spread the news," Michael makes her notice, very calmly.

"You're right. Well, at least he's fine, but it's 11:52 p.m., it's almost midnight and if he doesn't come here…"

"Well, if he doesn't come, we will go out looking for him and we'll find him before he does something irreparable," Michael suggests. "And we'll also punish him, for misbehaving." he sneers, amused at the idea.

"Gee, you're obsessed with punishments!" Rachel rolls her eyes.

"Well, you like them…" he purrs, inviting her to join him.

She obliges, caressing his face.

"That's a totally different kind of punishment, the kind that just makes me want to misbehave again and again," she smiles, kissing him.

Just when things start to get hotter between them, someone knocks at the door.

"It's Matt!" Rachel rejoices, rushing to open the door.

A little bit unwillingly, since he interrupted important stuff, Michael follows her.

Rachel pulls the door open, realising she's right, because she's face to face with a very pissed off Matthew.

"You. And you!" the Englishman hisses, pointing his index finger at her first, and then at Michael.

"I prefer your scared version than your moody one!" Michael snorts, crossing his arms over his chest as Matt crosses the threshold.

"I'm so glad to see you, Matt!" Rachel smiles at him.

"I'm here just to get my bloody answers, because I don't know what the fuck you did to me, but… something's changed, a lot. So now you must make things right!" the singer snaps, as outside a steeple starts to ring the first bells of midnight.

"I'm sorry but there's no 'Satisfaction or your money back' guarantee, here, which in your case would be 'Satisfaction or your _blood_ back'," Michael chuckles.

"Blood?" Matthew repeats, intrigued, as the steeple rings the seventh bell.

"Yeah, blood. It's our terms of payment. And now it's yours, too," Rachel giggles, as the steeple rings the tenth bell.

"But why did you ask me to come here just before midnight?" Matt asks, as the steeple rings the last bell.

Immediately, the pianist drops to the floor, writhing in agony.

"That's why," Michael states.

"What is that?" Matt whimpers, embracing his stomach.

"Your first hunger as reborn, Matthew," Rachel explains. "I know, it's terrible, but don't worry, it will fade away as soon as you feed," she adds.

"Feed on… blood?" Matt realises, as he grimaces in pain, giving out a growl just like the one of the morning.

"Correct, Matthew," Michael smiles at him. "Now you're a vampire. Welcome to the club!"

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you still like it.
> 
> As always, feel free to tell me whatever you please.
> 
> And you can even ask questions, but I don't guarantee that I'll answer, lol! ;)
> 
> After all, you'll find lots of answers in next chapter!
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	5. IV: Take, take all you need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's time for explanations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, thank you for reading, hope you'll like it, too, but if you don't tell me I'll never know.. :(

Chapter IV: Take, take what you need.

Michael leaves the room and Matthew questions Rachel with his look.

"He'll be right back and you will be very happy once he gets back." she smiles at him.

"I wish. Right now I'm anything but happy." he complains, in pain.

"I know, dear, but these are the rules, after the first midnight of your rebirth the bloodlust begins, it's a painful step that everyone has to take." she explains, kneeling down and caressing his forehead.

"But why…" Matthew attempts to ask, but she closes his mouth, pinching his lips with two fingers.

"Hush, precious. There's time for questions, now you've just got to feed," she says, getting up and walking towards the door, as she can feel that Michael is back.

Michael brings three people in the house, a boy and two girls and he leaves them standing in the middle of the room, almost as if they were under a spell. Actually, they are.

Michael takes the first girl by the hand and walks towards Matthew, as Rachel helps the newbie get up, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Matthew stares at the girl, she's a redhead with brown eyes and a blank expression.

"She's hypnotized right now, just like all the others are; they can't be aware of what's going on." Michael explains to Matt.

As Rachel still holds him, the Englishman approaches the girl, bringing his whole attention onto her tender, pulsating, inviting neck, fully exposed.

He licks his lips, as his tongue hits two long, straight and sharp things: his canines.

Matthew turns to Rachel, with his eyes changed into a brightest blue, electrical, almost white, definitely unnatural.

The vampiress nods at him, as he bends over the girl.

"Now everything should be instinctive to you." Rachel states and that's true.

Matthew opens his mouth wide and sinks his fangs into the girl's neck, she startles and gives out a whimper, but keeps still.

Matthew starts drinking her sweet, warm, restoring blood, more and more eagerly, as he feels a new strength growing inside him, melting the previous pain away.

He breaks free from Rachel's grip and places his hands on the human girl's hips, holding her better as he keeps feeding on her neck.

Michael and Rachel observe him carefully, ready to intervene if necessary, but it's not.

Matt parts from the girl, who collapses on the floor, passed out, and looks at the two vampires.

"I don't want to kill her!" he growls, as he tries to resist to the calling of her addictive blood.

"Don't worry, you won't. Right now you haven't drunk enough to cause a serious damage to her. She's just weak, but she's fine. If you went on feeding on her, we would stop you, but you managed to stop on your own, which means that your will is strong enough to dominate the demon within you." Rachel comments.

"Really?" Matt smiles, victoriously.

"That's true. You know, vampires who are nothing but evil, soulless killers is such a stupid cliché!" Michael rolls his eyes.

"So you don't kill people, right?" Matt asks, sort of relieved.

"Well, I used to kill them, a lot, after all I killed even during my human life." Michael admits, walking closer to Rachel and holding her tight. "But I stopped for her. Love can change people for real." he smiles at his partner, kissing her sweetly. "Well, now I don't kill anymore, unless someone is looking for trouble." he sneers.

"And I've killed just once, only to save Michael, I didn't even feed on my victim. Anyway, killing is dangerous, because it makes you feel way too powerful… I don't like it." Rachel states as her Sire hugs her from behind.

"It's just like with humans, there are good and evil ones, it depends by what you choose to do, control your demon or let the demon control you." Michael explains.

"You know, some vampires become evil because the sense of freedom overpowers them, some because they have a weak mind, some because their Sire wants them to be evil." Rachel asserts.

"Their what?" Matt cuts her off, hearing that mysterious word once again.

"Whenever a vampire turns a human, the vampire become their Sire and the human become their Childe." she replies.

"Or their minion, if the vampire wants them to submit to them. For the record, you're a Childe, Matthew, an equal, we won't ever order you to do anything." Michael smiles at him.

"Well, thank you, then." Matt smiles back at the older vampire, but then realization hits him. "I feel a strange connection with you. Are you my… " he wavers.

"Sire? Yep, Matthew, I am. You seem to control your demon pretty well. I'm proud of you, Childe" Michael smirks.

"Well, I know a thing or two about self-control," Matt admits. "Anyway, thank you… Sire," he adds, the lingering feeling of that word making him feel odd, before another important question pops into his mind. "Why didn't I remember a thing about what happened last night?"

"Remember? We can hypnotize people, so yesterday we hypnotized you, making you forget it all. You know, it would be something way too shocking to face on your own and we couldn't stay with you during the day." Rachel justifies.

"Anyway, I guess that now it's time to make you remember everything," Michael decides, as he walks closer to Matt. "Look at me," he says and the other obliges, watching his black eyes turn silver, as two white spirals swirl around the pupils . "Now you will recall all the events." he states as his eyes turn back to their normal colour.

Matthew starts to remember everything: Michael's bite, the initial sharp pain immediately replaced by pleasure and an overwhelming sense of quietness, as he grew weaker and weaker. And then, between life and death, he remembers seeing Michael pulling off his neck and biting his own wrist, drawing blood. He remembers Michael bringing the wound to Matt's mouth, asking him if he really wanted what he was about to offer him… and Matt remembers saying yes with every fibre of his body, placing his mouth on Michael's wound and sucking greedily, just before passing out.

"Oh," Matt recovers, as he walks towards the mirror. "But how can it be that I can still see my reflection?" he wonders, naively, as he stares at his glowing eyes, his pointy, elongated canines, and two tiny punctures at the left side of his neck, invisible to human eyes, but Matt hasn't got human eyes anymore.

Rachel and Michael burst out laughing.

"I guess that you read too many books or saw too many movies about vampires, they're full of craps. We can see our reflection everywhere, garlic is not a problem, but it's not the best choice if you have to kiss someone," Rachel informs him, giggling. "You can go everywhere, even without an invitation and we don't fear flowing water at all." she adds.

"We can eat food and we do, actually we appreciate it even more, since our sense of taste is amplified, but we can't keep ourselves alive only with that, we need blood. Besides, since beds are so comfortable, there's no point in sleeping inside a cold and creepy coffin, unless you want to try a new experience for once." Michael chuckles.

"Did you try?" Matthew wonders.

Both Michael and Rachel nod.

"How is it?" the Englishman asks them, curios.

"Weird." Michael replies.

"About crosses, I have several necklaces with pendants cross-shaped and they don't bother us at all. On second hand, you'd better avoid touching crucifixes and holy water in churches, it hurts like hell," she advises him.

"No holy stuff. Got it." Matt nods.

"Good. You know, sun is the vampires' biggest enemy, you take a step into direct sunlight, you're dust. Unless…" Michael begins.

"I have a pendant like this." Matt ends his sentence, holding the pendant.

"Right. It's a sort of talisman for vampires. There are just a dozen of them all around the world," the older vampire states.

"And did you manage to have two of them? Wonderful!" Matt says, but Michael shakes his head.

"Not two, only one, which now is yours." he declares.

"What? No, I can't accept it." the singer protests.

"You must accept it. C'mon, Matthew, we have used it very, very rarely. Truth is that we prefer the night, that's where we belong."

"Rachel is right. Besides, think about it, you have the photo-shoots, the interviews, the making of the videos, some concerts during daylight, you can't fuck up your career, can you?" Michael makes him notice.

"Uh, right! So can I really keep it? " Matt asks politely.

"We insist. If we miss the sun too badly we'll ask you if we can borrow it for a couple of days." Michael suggests.

"Deal!" the pianist nods.

"Anyway, the pendant protects you from the sun, but there are other things that can kill us. Guess what?" Michael exhorts his Childe.

"Stakes to the heart?" Matt hazards.

"Exactly. Guns, swords, knives can't harm us, at least not seriously, but stakes are lethal. After all, there's something true in those crappy books. Lucky for us, there aren't many people who goes around with that stuff." the older vampire smirks.

"Okay, guys, thanks for all the information. Now, if you don't mind, I'm still hungry." Matt confesses.

Rachel chuckles.

"It's more than normal, dear. Usually, you should feed on if not three, at least two people per day," she says, as Matt stares at the other two hypnotized humans. "But first there's something you must do." she adds.

"What?" Matt asks her.

"Do you see your first prey? There are still your bite marks on her neck. If there's something that literature and cinema taught us is that people start to investigate and end up finding the truth whenever they see punctures like that. It's important to erase the traces and it's very easy to do that." she informs the newbie.

"Really?" her listener wonders.

"Yep, just lick the bite marks, vampires' saliva has an astonishing healing power." she states.

Matt kneels down and leans over the girl's neck, licking the two tiny holes on her neck and after, a few seconds, almost magically, they heal.

Satisfied, Matthew gets up and heads towards the other humans, choosing the boy over the girl.

He's a tall boy, around thirty years old, with blond hair and green eyes, despite their numbness.

"I knew you would like him. It took me a while to find someone who reminds you of … _him_." Michael chuckles and Matthew frowns.

"Wait. Do you read my mind or something?" he wonders.

"We read minds. Period. And yours was very interesting to read." the vampiress smiles.

"Was?" Matt raises an eyebrow.

"Yep, we can read only humans' mind." she explains.

"So can I read minds, too?" Matt asks, way too hopefully.

"No, dear. I'm sorry, but it's a power that you get after a century on un-living." she replies.

" _Alright. I've just got to wait for a bloody century and finally I'll get to know what Dominic thinks!"_ the guitarist thinks sarcastically.

"So, you can't read each other's mind." he figures out.

"Nope. We can resort to telepathy, but it's very complicated, exhausting and requests a lot of energy," Rachel reveals.

"Right. So where's the point in wearing yourself out when you can rely to the brilliant human technology? " Michael smirks, showing his smart-phone.

"Ok, no reading mind. At least can I hypnotize people?" Matt asks.

Rachel nods, smiling.

"Of course you can, that's what we're about to teach you. However, you can hypnotize every human but the one who truly loves you and you truly love, just because true love is stronger than any kind of magic" she says, walking towards the human guy. "Now, I'll free this guy from his trance and then you'll hypnotize him, on your own. All you have to do is empty your mind and concentrate on his, desiring to dominate it. The rest will come naturally," she instructs the younger vampire who nods.

She stares at the human guy, as her eyes turn fuchsia with purple spirals inside them. "Now, you're not under our spell anymore." she whispers to him and the guy reawakens from his torpor

"Oh, my God, Matthew Bellamy! You know, your entourage told me I had a chance to meet you, I was very sceptic about it but followed them anyway, " the blond guy says, as Matt turns to Michael and Rachel, staring at them in disbelief.

"My _entourage_?" he questions them.

"Well, it worked!" Michaels shrugs.

"But they were right, I'm here with you, right here, right now. Oh, God! You're my hero. I adore every song of yours, they're so fun both to play and sing." the guys goes on, hyper, too agitated to look directly at him.

"Thank you. Too bad that I'm not to be that kind to you." Matt hisses.

The guy finds the courage to look at him better … and terror overwhelms him.

"Dammit! What's wrong with your eyes? And with your teeth? What the hell is it going on?" he yells, trying to back off, but Matt grasps his shoulders firmly, closing his eyes to concentrate.

When he opens them again, they're still unnaturally blue, but now there are dark blue spirals swirling inside them.

"Look at me. Be quiet and nothing bad will happen. After this you'll forget everything. Now I just need a little something from you, will you be so lovely to let me take it?" Matt says, sweetly, as he passes a hand through his blond hair, imagining that it's someone else's blond hair and that he's staring into someone else's green eyes.

The human guy falls under the vampire's spell and nods, tilting his head to one side, in order to give him complete access.

"Good boy." Matt smiles as the spirals fade away, before biting his neck, sucking the blood hungrily, but once again he manages to stop at the proper time, letting the guy pass out on the floor. Besides, Matt remembers to lick the wound, making it disappear.

"You learn quickly, I'm astonished." Michael smiles.

"It's because I've got two very good teachers," Matt strikes back, but when they offer him the last girl he shakes his head, negatively. "No, thanks, I guess I've had enough for tonight." he states, as he wipes the blood from his mouth and chin.

"That's okay, we'll keep her for us, then." Michael suggests and Rachel nods.

"Well, how can I shake this stuff away?" Matt asks, pointing at his eyes and fangs.

"Just wish it." Rachel informs him.

Matthew does and goes back to the mirror, admiring victoriously his normal features again.

"Alright, now I know all I have to know. Thanks again, we'll keep in touch, do you have MSN?" Matt wonders.

"Michael barely knows what a computer is, but I do. My MSN user-ID is fangy78." Rachel says.

"So, we are from the same year!" Matt smiles at her, surprised.

Rachel bursts out laughing.

"Sweetie, I meant _1878_!" she clarifies.

"Gee, you're old!" Matt exclaims.

"Hey! No one talks like that to my baby!" Michael growls at him.

"Calm down, Mickey, I know what he meant to say," Rachel says, before turning to Matt. "However, don't you dare anymore to say that I'm old!" she growls at him, insulted.

"Sorry." Matt apologizes.

"Anyway, Matthew, lessons are not over. There are still things that you must learn."

"Michael is right. I guess that you've found out that now you have certain powers, haven't you?" Rachel asks him.

"Do you mean super smell, super hearing and super sight? Yep, I had a taste of that." the Englishman admits.

"Well, there are super quickness and super strength, too. The point is that you can't activate your super hearing during a concert, it will drive you insane." she goes on.

"You're right. I'm already bothered by the cars on the road, the chatting of all the people and even the bloody bird's tweeting." Matt snorts.

"I know. Besides, you shouldn't use your super strength or quickness on stage." she advises him.

"So is there a way to switch my powers on and off?" Matt wonders.

"Yep, it's all about mind control. Besides, once you learned how to do that, you can even begin to circumscribe them." Michael informs him.

"Fascinating. However, before showing me how to do that, don't you think it's time to tell me more about you?" Matt exhorts the older vampires.

"You're right, after all, you belong to our family now," Michael agrees. "OK, let's start with me. I was a soldier, during the Spanish War of Succession. Actually, my real name would be Miguel, it's Rachel who insists calling me Michael, but I like it."

"It suits you better!" she justifies, as she ruffles his hair.

"You were a soldier. Cool!" Matt comments.

"Well, I had to kill not to be killed and I was surrounded by death, seeing people who I had brought myself to call friends, die in front of my eyes, so… no, Matt, I don't think that cool is the proper word." Michael confesses.

"Huh, sorry. Bad choice of words, you're right. Anyway, you know, I wrote a poem for soldiers, I guess we played it yesterday."

"Yeah, you did and I really appreciated that song, it has got a very nice message." his Sire congratulates him.

" Thank you. Please, go on with the story."

"Well, on a fateful night in the Summer of 1714, the enemy was quicker than me. I was lying on the ground, bleeding and barely alive, when a figure came closer to me. She was beautiful, blonde, with long, curly hair, hazel eyes, a curvy, perfect body and such a sensual mouth. Miranda, that's her name, told me that I wasn't meant to die… and that's how everything began." Michael states.

"I hate when you talk about _her_!" Rachel growls, bothered.

"Human or vampire, it doesn't change anything, mentioning former girlfriends is always such a danger!" Matthew chuckles.

"How do you know she was my former girlfriend?" Michael asks him.

"I figured that out by her reaction!" Matthew replies, pointing at a pissed off Rachel.

"But it wasn't a real relationship, Miranda controlled me, making me addicted. She was evil, selfish, violent and taught me to be the same. After all, I already killed as a human, it wasn't such a big change for me. Probably I wasn't evil enough for her, because Miranda got tired soon of her newest sex toy and left me all alone, disappearing without a trace. I've never seen her since then, but honestly, I don't give a damn, she wasn't very lovable," Michael snorts. "I wandered alone for more than a century. Time went on, it was the early years of 1900," he says, gesturing Rachel to go on.

"I was one of the ladies in waiting of Princess Beatrix of Saxony. The princess liked parties and having people around, so she usually arranged balls. One night, at a ball, Michael was there, we saw each other and it was love at first sight," she comments, sighing happily.

"I wanted her, I needed her, because she gave a sense to my existence and still does. I seduced her and she fell in love with me, so I told her 'Do you want to stop being a lady-in-waiting of a Princess and become a Queen yourself? My Queen?' And, as you can see, her answer was yes." Michael grins proudly, pulling Rachel closer.

"Don't mind at him, he always has to tell everyone this part of the story!" she rolls his eyes.

"But they're words meant for effect, don't you agree?" Michael asks Matt.

"Of course, it's the kind of sentence that makes girls feel dizzy." the singer nods.

"Anyway, Rachel changed me, in a better way. She refused to kill people, just like you did, Matthew. So she taught me to see even the good stuff in humans, not just the bad things, I learned to respect them, even to like some of them, sometimes, and little by little I stopped killing humans." he explains.

"Very nice story." Matt comments.

"OK, Matthew, now let's get back to work. Next lesson is how to control your super hearing," Rachel states, glancing at her watch. "It's going to be a long night!"

Two hours later, after a lot of training, Matt has reached remarkable results.

"Alright, Matt, now you know the basic stuff, I guess it's enough." Michael declares.

"Fine, now I have the mother of all the questions: why did you turn me into a vampire?" Matthew finally asks them.

"Because you needed help, you were acting irresponsibly, walking the insidious path of self-destruction. So we just stopped the hands of the clock of your life. Now you can go back to your bad habits, without damaging yourself anymore, or you can take your time to figure out what you really want and try to get it… or rather get _him_." Rachel winks at him.

"You read my mind, right? Just when?" he asks her.

"Two nights ago, I was at that restaurant when Dom kissed you." she reveals.

"So did you hear Dom's thoughts, too?" Matt questions her, eagerly.

"Yep, but there's no bloody way I'm going to tell you. This is something only between Dom and you. It's up to you!" she strikes back.

Matt nods, reluctantly, and leaves the house.

"You're so cruel, you could give him at least a little hint." Michael comments, kissing her shoulder.

"The more you fight for your love, the sweeter the conquer is." the vampires asserts, before kissing her Sire.

It's 3:30 a.m. when Matt arrives back at the hotel but, instead of going to his room, he takes the card key of Dom's room from his wallet; Dom, Chris, Tom and he always exchanged the copy of their keys, wherever they were.

He opens the door without making a noise and tiptoes towards Dom's bed, as silent as only a vampire can be. The room is dark, but Matt's eyes can see in the dark very well.

He stands close to his best friend, watching his serene expression as he sleeps, curled on one side, breathing so softly that Matt almost has to resort to his super hearing to hear him make a sound.

" _Why do you have to be so painfully beautiful?"_ Matt thinks as he skims his blond, now messy locks with his hand, a touch too gentle to wake Dom up.

Matt closes his eyes, trying to concentrate as much as possible, squeezing his eyes and clenching his fists, but nothing happens.

" _No way, I can't read your mind."_ he sighs, kneeling on the floor.

"Well, my dear Dommie, now things have changed, I've changed, now I obey to a new rule, I take what I need… and I need you." he whispers to his ear, as he caresses his face.

Dominic begins to stir, moaning, and the vampire leaves the room, as fast as he can.

"Matt?" Dom jolts, sitting in his bed, but he gets no answer.

" _It was only a dream. A beautiful, wonderful, unattainable dream."_ Dom thinks, falling asleep again, as he places a hand on his face, in the same spot Matt's hand was.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I shamelessly stole the 'Sire' and 'Childe ' terminology from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer ' , it's just that I love that terms!
> 
> Please, please, please, let me know whatever you think. I really count on that.


	6. V: Why is this a crisis in your eyes again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew tries to conquer Dominic… his way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Hoodoo' lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter V: Why is this a crisis in your eyes again?

In the morning, around 10:00 a.m., when Tom, Chris and Dom all reach the dining room together to have breakfast, they find Matt at his table that is full of every kind of delicacy: slices of several types of cakes, cookies, rusks with jam, cereals, yogurt and much more.

Matthew notices his friends and greets them with his hand, but he doesn't stop gobbling his food.

"Food hasssh never been pho delicious!" he slurs with his mouth full of raspberry pie.

"Right, Matt, that's the spirit! Keep charging yourself for tonight," Tom comments, cheerfully.

"Hey, Bells, are you trying to steal my role? _I_ am the one who always praises food." Chris chuckles, patting his shoulder, playfully.

"It's so good to see you eating with such an appetite!" Dom beams, as he sits next to his best friend.

"You have no idea how much I do," Matt smiles at the blond. "Although there's another kind of appetite I'd like to satisfy now." he adds in a whisper, so that Dom can be the only one to hear him, as the brunet stares at him in a very mischievous way.

Dom has never seen Matt looking at him like that before.

" _Lucky for me, I've already sat down, because my legs are so weak right now!"_ he thinks, as he takes a slice of strawberry pie that Matt gently offers to him.

" _Look at the way you're absorbed in your thoughts right now… too bad I can't find out what the hell are you thinking, but I don't mind… I have other cards to play,"_ Matt meditates as he offers his best friend the cake, enjoying his happy face.

Dom adores strawberries and Matt doesn't need to read his mind to know that.

"So, Bells, were you sensible or did you stay up late last night too?" Tom asks him, as he bites into a croissant.

"I've been out for as long as necessary. Anyway, see? I'm as good as new!" Matt states, grinning.

The others have to recognize that actually, beyond being in a very good mood, Matt is also in an astonishingly good shape.

.

That's because the blood he took last night has also barely reddened his face.

"You're right, you're looking great. I'm sure that tonight you're going to kick asses!" Chris exhorts him.

" _Dammit! If I don't keep my self-control and go wild… I'm afraid I'm going to do that_ _ **literally**_ _. "_ Matt reckons, a little concerned, as he tries to recall all the lessons about self-control that Michael and Rachel taught him.

Matt resumes concentrating on Dom, taking advantage of the fact that Tom and Chris have gone to get their coffees.

It means that Dom and he now are all alone.

"Hey, this is such a cool T-shirt, is it new?" Matt says, pointing at Dom's sandy T-shirt with a dark brown skull in the middle.

"Yep, I bought it yesterday." Dom smiles.

"You look good in it," Matt admits.

"Thank you, mate," Dom grins proudly.

God only knows how much he likes compliments.

"After all, you look bloody good in anything." Matt adds, staring at Dom intensely.

" _And you would look even better_ _ **without**_ _anything. Dammit! Why can't I have also the power to look through your clothes?"_ the vampire broods.

In the meantime, Dom is still busy recording the last sentence that his best friend told him in his mind.

" _Oh my, did it really say that? Oh, c'mon, Dom, it's not the first time that you've received a compliment from Matt, he always says nice things to me. Yeah, but so far he hadn't ever looked at me as if he wanted to take my clothes off… like he's doing now,"_ Dom reflects. _"Naaah, he's probably just pretending to do that, he wants to make fun of me, because of my vanity,"_ he decides. _"Anyway, please, Matt, stop looking at me this way, otherwise I won't be responsible of my actions,"_ he pleads silently.

Dom feels so awkward that he's almost relieved when he sees Tom and Chris coming back to their table.

The breakfast goes on pleasantly, between general chatting, laughter and some issues about the incoming gig, but more than once Dom manages to catch a glimpse of Matt as the brunet is staring at Dom like he was a giant banana.

Once the guys are done with their breakfast, they head towards the elevator.

"So this is our last show before the break. Matt, what are you going to do after that? I guess you can't come back in Como, right?" Tom asks.

"Huh, right. I hadn't thought about that," Matt says.

"Well, too bad that I already had plans for this break, in Spain, to pay a visit to some friends of mine, otherwise you could have stayed with me," Tom informs him.

"Hey, Bells, why don't you come to my house? The kids will be so happy to see their favourite uncle again!" Chris invites his friend.

"Wait a minute. _I_ am their favourite uncle!" Dom protests.

"You wish!" Matt sticks his tongue out at the drummer.

"Whatever. Chris, I guess that you would like to spend some time alone with your family, especially with Kelly, am I right?" Dom asks his friend.

"Actually…" the bassist mumbles, as he brings a hand behind is nape and stares at the floor, embarrassed.

"No problem. Matt will stay with me," Dom announces to his friends, as they cross the elevator.

"Really?" Matt asks for confirmation, trying his best to hide his excitement at that possibility.

"Yeah. After all, I bet that you miss London, don't you?" Dom asks the singer and he nods.

"See? That's the perfect solution. After all, I have no commitments on my agenda, no romantic dates, no party to go. Nothing. Quite the contrary, I'd like to have some company," the blond admits.

" _Especially if the company in question is from my Matt!"_ he adds in his mind, trying his best not to sound too happy.

"Well, Dom, if you insist and say that I do not disturb you…" Matt wavers.

"Hell yeah I insist, and nope, Matthew, you never disturb me, _never_ ,"Dom says with such a sugary voice and such a lovely look that Chris and Tom almost feel like two intruders.

The elevator reaches their floor and the four guys, splitting into pairs, take different directions.

Coincidentally, Matt and Dom's rooms are in the same corridor.

"I'm so happy you accepted my offer. We will be flatmates, just like the good old times. It will be fun," Dom smiles at the brunette, before realising that, once again, Matt is looking at him in that oh so breathtaking way.

"You and me, all alone in London?" the frontman smirks, getting closer to Dom's face. "Well, be sure that it's going to be fun!" he whispers in the blond's ear, blowing cold air, and because of both of those reasons Dom finds himself shivering as he watches Matt going to his room.

_"_ _What does it mean? Why is he acting like that? I have to talk to someone,"_ the drummer establishes, heading towards the other corridor and knocking on a certain someone's door.

Chris opens immediately.

"Hey, Dom, what's wrong?" the bassist asks the blond, inviting him in.

"Nothing, it's just that I wanted to talk about Matt. Are you noticing something different in him?" Dom wonders, as he sits on an armchair.

"Do you mean his astonishing appetite and his almost scary good mood?" Chris chuckles.

"Yep, but it's not only that. I mean... there's something in his behaviour, he's acting different, he's so..." the blond trails off, looking for the right word.

_"_ _So damn cocky and self-confidant? So damn irresistible? So much sexier? So damn rapable? Wait... is it even a word? Bloody hell, Dom, he's Chris, for God's sake, mind your language!"_ he reproaches himself.

"So damn odd," Dom concludes, after a long pause.

Chris chuckles again.

"So are you worried about that? Oh, c'mon, this is Matt who we're talking about. He's always odd, I'm sure that now he's just going through one of his countless phases. Well, it's better than when he was desperate and self-destructive, isn't it?" Chris states.

"Of course it is, it's so nice to see him happier," Dom nods.

"However, no matter how weird he's been acting these past two days, I'm sure it's just something temporary, so don't worry about that too much," Chris advises him.

"Thank you, buddy, talking with you helped me, as always," Dom smiles, getting up and leaving.

_"Temporary, my ass! I don't want this to end. I like how Matt is acting with me. I like it a lot,"_ the drummer thinks, as he goes back to his room.

Dom keeps on liking Matt's wild behaviour, even more during the show at The End's Deck, The Hall Ball in Seattle, because Matt constantly turns to Dom, smiling at him as he sings, as he plays the guitar, as he plays the piano, as he walks on stage.

The concert is going very well; they started with 'Resistance', just as Dom had wished, and they're sending their crowd crazy with the other songs. Although he doesn't need to anymore, Matt keeps breathing, partly because it's a habit that is way too hard to forget, but mostly because it's an integral part of his singing technique.

Finally one of the moments Dom loves the most comes, which is playing 'Supermassive Black Hole'. He adores that song, because its captivating groove always makes Matt move, play and sing in a very sensual way.

But that night things go beyond what Dom could have ever expected.

During the musical bridge, placing himself in front of the drums, without even bothering to remain hidden from the camcorders, Matthew begins to touch the kaoss pad to play the riff.

What's wrong with that? Maybe the fact that he's doing that with his tongue, without stopping staring at Dominic all time long.

Chris is too busy playing the bass to look at his friend, but Dom is looking at Matt speechless, almost drooling, and he must do his best not to mess up the drums.

_"Is he trying to kill me?"_ Dom wonders silently, bewildered, as he gives vent to his frustration, playing more energetically than usual.

The song ends and Matt gets closer to Dom in order to tell him something.

The people in the crowd think that it's something technical that has to do with the setlist, but they are oh so wrong.

"Did you like that little show? There's so much more to come," the singer whispers to the drummer in a silky voice, hiding his mouth behind a hand, almost moaning in delight.

Dom looks at his best friend in wonder and Matt smirks, going back to his position.

The following songs are 'Assassin', 'Plug In Baby' and 'MK Ultra'.

During the first song, at the beginning, Matt places himself in front of Dom once again, pushing his pelvis hard against the guitar and locking his ocean blue eyes with his watcher's green-grey, stormy eyes.

Matt repeats the action at the end of the second song, this time mouthing to Dom the sentence 'it could be you', being careful to spell it very clearly, and then he goes to the left side of the stage.

_"Did I imagine that?"_ Dom asks himself, puzzled, as he keeps playing frantically.

During the third song, in the middle, Matt builds on it as he practically makes love with his guitar, this time the Glitterati, and he keeps doing it for longer than usual.

Dom swore that he heard Matt whispering 'I wish it could be you so bad' into his ear, although the drummer is also sure that Matt hadn't moved from where he is now.

_"Alright, I 'm hallucinating. That's the first step to the madhouse!"_ _Dom realises, concerned, as he resumes concentrating on the drums, without taking notice of the fact that his acid green pants have now tightened … a lot!_

_"God bless supernatural quickness!"_ _Matt sneers, pleased, as he goes to Chris, in order to chase him away from that side of the stage and take his place._

_The vampire decides that he has tortured his main target enough and confines himself to just looking at him once in a while until the concert ends with the very last song._

_After greeting and thanking their crowd, Muse go backstage, changing out of their showy outfits._

_Chris entertains everyone with a funny anecdote, Tom shows them the pictures he has taken that night, but Dom and Matt don't speak to each other, Dom because he's still way too shocked and Matt because he wants to leave the blond alone, at least for now._

_Once they're ready, everyone goes in a different direction: Chris goes to a quieter room to call Kelly, Morgan and Tom are outside, flirting with two American models and Dom is asked for some interviews, so Matt is free to satisfy his impelling need._

_The vampire goes outside to greet his fans, making them yell in response. He signs some autographs and waves his hand at the people, and then he chooses two girls from the first row, a blonde and a brunette, both around twenty-five years old, gesturing to them to follow him backstage._

_The two girls can't believe their luck as they follow him, until they reach his dressing room._

On the way the girls do nothing but almost drive Matt blind with the flashes of their cameras and almost drive him deaf with their excessive screams.

Matt can't already stand them any longer.

" _C'mon, be patient, you need them now,"_ he reminds himself.

He makes them sit down on a sofa as he sits on the other one. The girls keep giggling excitedly, looking at him and at the room.

"Well, now, if you don't mind, I'm thirsty," Matt announces.

The brunette gets up, rushing towards the mini-fridge.

"Sure, Matt, let me take you a coke," she says.

The blonde reaches her immediately.

"Are you stupid or what? He's thirsty and you offer him a coke?" she snaps, before turning to the frontman, wearing a sweet smile. "Matt, let me take you a beer," she says in a sappy voice.

The vampire stands up, smiling, and walks towards them.

"Trust me, girls, it's not necessary," he reveals, as dark blue spirals swirl from his now unnatural, electric, glowing blue eyes.

" _OK, I have two choices,"_ Matt realises, shifting back to his human features, after cursing himself for not stopping a little before, both of the times, as he stares at the passed out girls on the floor. _"Either I pick at least three people per night, not to drink too much from them, or I buy some smelling salts,"_ he thinks, as he tries to wake them up, unsuccessfully.

He licks the bite marks to make them disappear and then he goes out, searching for two guys from the security.

"Here, take them to the closest hospital, they'll recover soon," the singer instructs them as they lift the girls up.

Dom walks into the corridor just in time to see that scene.

"Matt, what happened?" he runs to the brunet.

"Well, you know, rock star and fans who get way too excited… that's the result," the pianist shrugs nonchalantly.

"Huh, right, I've been there, too," the blond chuckles, calmer. "I was about to call you. We're ready to go party, are you coming?" he asks his best friend.

"Sure, but before… why don't we take a walk, Dom? You can tell the others that we'll find them later," he suggests to the blond.

"Well, why not? Just… how? It's way too crowded outside," Dom reminds the brunet.

"It's time for us to test how good the security guys are," Matt smirks, taking Dom by his hand and running away with him.

With the help of the security staff, they manage to get out of the back door without being noticed and, after a while. they're walking through a street, far from the The End's Deck, The Hall Ball.

"Hey, Matt, did you do something, huh… different tonight?" Dom questions him, a little embarrassed, as he sends a text message to Chris to inform their friends of their temporary absence.

"I did only what was needed to be done," Matt strikes back, mysteriously, as they're crossing an isolated alley. "Yeah, here is just perfect," he mutters, before tugging Dom's forearm, pulling him closer to himself.

"Well, Dom, I don't know if you're going to like it, but surely this time you're going to remember it!" the singer says, and then he smashes his lips against Dom, asking Dom to open his mouth with his tongue.

Matt doesn't need to force his best friend, because Dom almost immediately parts his lips, welcoming Matt's tongue with his own tongue, as they begin to battle together, fiercely.

Matt manages to part from Dom, looking at him, stunned.

"Oh my, Dom, does this mean that you, that also you…" he starts.

"Shut up and kiss me!" the drummer almost growls, pushing Matt back against a wall and kissing him even more eagerly than before as he grasps the guitarist's shoulder to pull him closer.

Matt answers the kiss more than willingly, nibbling and sucking on Dom's lower lip, as his fingers plays with the lobe of his ears.

"Oh, Matt," Dominic moans, tracing his closed eyes, his nose, his cheeks, his chin with kisses and descending to his neck.

This sends Matt over the edge.

"Oh, god, Dom!"

He kisses Dom vehemently, descending to his neck slowly, painfully slowly.

Matt starts to kiss Dom's exposed skin and then he licks it, sucks it, harder and harder.

"Matthew! You're going to leave me the king of the hickeys…" Dom attempts to complain, painting heavily.

"Well, you can always say it's from one of the sluts whom you constantly sleep with!" Matt growls, kissing him possessively.

"You're right. Go on then, it felt so good," the blond urges his mate, biting his lips softly.

Matt moans, before placing his mouth back on his favourite spot.

He inhales his scent deeply, not only the smell of Dom, but his blood too.

Matt can also hear it flow; he can feel it under Dom's artery; he can almost see it through his veins.

Although he has already fed, it's a charming calling he can't resist to.

He resumes sucking on Dom's neck, and then he begins to bite it with his blunt teeth.

Dom jolts in surprise and tilts his head to one side, giving Matt complete access.

Matt is about to lose control as he bites Dom's neck again, a little harder.

"Matthew!" Dom groans, grabbing the brunet's nape to press him closer.

Matthew realises his canines are dangerously elongating and parts from Dom just in time, alarmed.

Dom catches a glimpse of Matt and he sees something weird in his eyes that make them look brighter, almost fluorescent, but he associates that with a strange play of light of the streetlamps.

"Damn, Matt, why the hell did you stop, it was so…" the drummer protests, but stops himself when he sees Matt raising his eyes to look at him.

His eyes now are their normal blue, but they're sad, guilty, concerned, scared, as if they were in the middle of a crisis.

"Forgive me, Dominic, I just can't," Matthew murmurs, running away before Dom has the time to say anything.

Dom tries to run after the brunette, but he's nowhere to be found.

Something tells him that Matt won't be partying with them that night.

Something tells him that Matt won't even be at the airport in the afternoon.

" _Why does he always run away when we kiss?"_ he thinks, frustrated and confused.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So do you like this 'new' Matt? ^^
> 
> Raise your hand if you're willing to offer him your neck, even without hypnosis. * raises her hand as well*
> 
> Well, I just LOVE Matt's way of breathing as he sings, so he had to keep it, lol.
> 
> About the thing with the kaoss pad, well, as you all surely already know … the real Matt did it (ok, at the beginning of 2010… whatever!) and staring at Dom, aaawww!
> 
> About the part when he chases Chris out from the stage, well, it's something that even the real Matt did at San Siro show. Lol, Matt can be so mean sometimes!
> 
> I know, I know, now Dom and Matt parted, once again, but you trust me, don't you?
> 
> Hope you'll still like it, but feel free to tell me everything anyway. ^^


	7. VI: You slipped away. Questions here to stay.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the chapter : Dominic tries to figure out. Matthew tries to find a solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Con-Science' lyrics, by Muse.
> 
>  
> 
> Warnings: language and Solo!Dom

Chapter VI: You slipped away. Questions here to stay.

Dominic does nothing but walk back and forth as he tries to analyse the whole situation.

"He kissed me. No, wait. He's been flirting with me since the bloody morning, sending me very explicit signals, he drove me crazy during the bloody show and then he bloody kissed me here, doing the bloody thing on his bloody own," he sums up in his mind, kind of annoyed.

"But he ran away, leaving me here like an idiot, craving more, oh so bloody much more," he thinks, taking advantage of the fact that it's an isolated alley to give himself some relief.

After all, the danger that someone could see him makes the whole situation even more exciting.

Dom unzips his blue jeans and lets his left hand slide inside his boxers.

"Damn you, Matt, if things had gone how I wished them to go, right now you would be doing this to me," the blond thinks, clenching his teeth as he toys with the head of his aching cock, starting to pump it.

"Why the fuck did you run away? It wasn't the kiss, you seemed to enjoy my kisses a lot," he ponders, as he increases the rhythm.

"Maybe Chris is right, you were just going through a phase and the phase in question was 'let's seduce your best friend and find out how it feels.' Well, this is how he feels, you bloody bastard!" he screams in his mind, as he can't hold it anymore.

Just as he's releasing in his hand, his iPhone starts to ring.

"What the fuck?" he curses, waiting until he's done and then he grabs the phone with his right hand.

"What do you want?" he barks, not very politely, without even looking at the display.

"Hey, Dom, what's wrong? Are you and Matt on your way? We're heading to the club I told you about before, we'll wait for you there," Chris informs him, a little surprised by Dom's rude tone and manners.

"Huh, right, the club. OK, I'll see you there," the blond replies.

"As soon as I've been to the nearest toilet!" he adds mentally.

"About Matt, he's changed his mind, he won't be with us, I'm alone," he reveals to his friend. "See you later," he hangs up, before finding a way to clean his mess.

"... I swear it's true, and then we ran away, before the geezer caught us," Tom finishes one of the anecdotes of their past, when they were teenagers.

"Oh, my, you were such a prankster!" the girl close to him giggles.

She is one of the two models that Tom and Morgan finally managed to conquer, for the record.

"Instead, you strike me as the good guy, with such an angelic face," the other girl says, cupping Morgan's face.

"Well, I didn't know Tom and the others back in those days, but yeah, I was a good guy and I still am," he smiles at her.

Hidden from the two couples, Dom has been glaring at Chris since he set foot in the club.

"I swear that this wasn't supposed to happen; it should have been just a boy's night, but the girls joined at the last minute," Chris justifies. "By the way, thank you for being here, it would have been too hard to stand the whole lovey-dovey stuff all alone," he adds, making Dom chuckle.

"After all, their lovey-dovey version is fun," the blond admits, scratching his neck a little bit.

"Woah! What's that, Mr. Lover?" Tom teases the drummer, pointing at his neck.

Dom recalls, too late, that there's something that was supposed to remain hidden.

"Well, it's nothing," he shrugs.

"Nothing? I wouldn't call an enormous hickey 'nothing'," Morgan points out. "C'mon, tell us, who did it?"

"Yeah, plus it must be a wild someone, look, there's even the mark of the teeth," Chris notices.

"C'mon, womanizer, tell us the truth," Tom complains to Dom.

"The truth? You couldn't ever take the truth," Dom reckons

"OK, at the end of the concert I met this person, very pretty and charming, and we took a walk together… and you know, one thing leads to another," he explains, very vaguely.

"Wow! That girl didn't waste time. So why didn't you bring her here?" Chris wonders.

"Wait. Did it happen as you were outside with Matthew?" Morgan asks him at the same time.

"Shit! Think fast, boy!" Dom shouts at himself.

"Yep, it happened while Matt was with me, but when... errrr… this girl came up to me, he decided to let her and me have the proper privacy," he starts his majestic lie. "About this… girl, she's not with me, because she ran away, out of the blue, without a fucking explanation!" he snorts.

"Really? That's odd." Chris comments.

"It's not odd, it's unnerving. I mean, you can't keep giving someone very obvious signals all day long and then change your mind just when things start to get very interesting," Dom grumbles.

"All day long? So, Dom, did you already know that girl?" Tom asks.

"Let's say that it wasn't the first time I'd seen… her, but it was the first time she was acting that way… and I wasn't disappointed at all," the blond confesses.

"Well, Dominic, cheer up, maybe you'll meet her again at our next show," Morgan comforts him.

"It's guaranteed that I'm going to meet this person at our next show," Dom asserts, and the others look at him in confusion.

"The problem is that I'd like to meet him before the next show," the drummer thinks, as he stares at his beer, unwilling to drink it.

****************************** (In the meantime)

Matthew is in his room, packing his stuff, but his thoughts won't leave him alone, of course.

"Dammit! Damn me and damn what I am. If I wasn't a vampire, right now my Dominic and I would be snuggling under the sheets of my bed… or his bed... or without any bloody bed, whatever!" he ponders, as he empties his cupboard, throwing his clothes on the bed in rage.

"Oh, c'mon, admit it, you like being a vampire. Yeah, but things could have worked out before," he thinks, as he puts his clothes inside his suitcase.

"Before? Before you wouldn't do anything but try to destroy yourself, in every stranger's bed, drowning in your misery," he admits.

"Are you my conscience? Are you my demon? Whoever you are, shut the fuck up!" he snaps at himself, closing his suitcase.

"It's almost ironic. Now that I know that Dominic feels the same way about me… I must keep myself far from him, to protect him from myself! I can't accept that, there must be a way to get out of this nightmare," he ponders, drawing out his iPhone. "And a certain someone is going to show me the way," he adds, opening his MSN app.

"What the hell was her ID? Vampy78? Naah. Miss-Fangs78? No.. uhmm.. c'mon, concentrate better, it has to deal with fangs… fangy78, that's it!" he silently exults, adding her to his friends' list, happy to see Rachel logged in.

He immediately sends a message to her.

the-Zetas-glittery-destroyer (01:18):

'Hi, Rachel, it's me, Matt.'

He doesn't have to wait for long to see the answer on the display.

fangy78 (01:19):

'Hey, Matt! It's nice to see you. Funny ID, btw. XD How are you?'

the-Zetas-glittery-destroyer (01:19)

'That's the point. I don't know. Can I come and see you and Michael? Are you still in L.A:?'

fangy78 (01:21)

'Sure you can. About L.A., yes and no. I mean, we're still in Los Angeles, but we're leaving tomorrow for Miami. There's a band Michael wants to see," she explains.

Matthew doesn't have time to investigate which band it is. He has other priorities.

the-Zetas-glittery-destroyer (01:21)

'OK. Let's meet tomorrow, after sunset. I'll wait for you at the airport.'

fangy78 (01:23)

'Sounds good. Just tell me, dear, did something happen with Dominic?'

the-Zetas-glittery-destroyer (01:25)

'That's the main reason why I need to see you. Can we talk about it tomorrow?'

fangy78 (01:26)

'Yay! Something happened with Dom, then! ;P ;P ;P '

Matthew smiles reading that, before a question pops in his mind.

the-Zetas-glittery-destroyer (01:27)

'Did you already know that something would happen with Dom?'

fangy78 (01:27)

'We'll talk about it tomorrow.'

the-Zetas-glittery-destroyer (01:28)

'Fine. See you tomorrow. Kisses… oh, wait. How do vampires say goodbye each other? Bites?'

fangy78 (01:28)

"LOL! Nope, sweetie, kisses is okay! XD See you tomorrow. Kisses.'

Matt sees fangy78 logging off and he mirrors her action.

"Matthew is going to visit us tomorrow, so we'll leave together," Rachel informs Michael.

"Gee, that that guy is hovering around you way too much," Michael grumbles.

"Yeah, sure, because talking about his beloved Dominic 24/7 is the best way to win my heart!" Rachel rolls her eyes.

"Oh," is all Michael says.

"Yeah, Michael, 'oh'. When will you quit being so bloody jealous?" she snorts, as she slides closer to him.

"Well… never?" he smirks, holding both of her hands, before shoving her on the bed, jumping on top of her.

She laughs, rolling on top of him.

"You should be punished for that," she growls sensually in his ear, straddling him.

"Oh yes, please, do," he pleads.

"Be careful what you wish for!" she growls, smirking, as she begins scratching his bare chest deep enough to draw blood, making her Sire purr in delight.

"Dom, we have to go, Tom is already boarding," Chris calls his friend. "It's useless to wait for Matt. I guess he's not coming," he adds.

"I know, but I hoped he would change his mind at the very last minute," the blond admits, sighing.

"I know. However, did you two argue or something? Maybe because of that girl?" Chris asks him.

"Which girl?" Dom frowns.

"Oh, c'mon, the one you met after the show. After all, Matthew was there with you, so maybe he wasn't very happy to leave because of that stranger," Chris hypothesizes.

Dom has to try his best not to burst out laughing.

"Oh, that girl. Well, no, Chris, trust me, Matthew wasn't disappointed at all, he left me… alone with her very willingly," he assures. "He just wants to spend some time on his own, for no specific reason and God only knows where he is now," he adds as they head towards a hostess.

"Oh my, you're Dom and Chris from Muse!" she says enthusiastically.

The two guys smiles at her in answer.

"I was so sure you were going to perform a show in L.A. tomorrow," she states.

"What? Nope, we've already played there, a few of days ago. Why were you thinking that?" Dom questions her, puzzled.

"Sorry, it's all my fault, it's just that when I saw Matthew taking the first available flight for Los Angeles this morning, I thought you were going to play there, but since now you're heading to London it doesn't make much sense," she babbles.

"Wait. Matt's gone to L.A.?" Dom figures out, astonished.

"Yeah. Oh, God, maybe I shouldn't have told you, there's the privacy issue… but you're his closest friends, I guess you already knew that… please, don't tell my boss about it, it's my first month here," the girl starts to worry.

"Calm down, you did nothing wrong. Quite the contrary, thanks for the news," Chris reassures her with a sweet smile.

"Why the hell did he go back to L.A.?" Dom wonders out loud.

"It must be another of his phases," Chris shrugs.

"Should I follow him? No way. For what? He probably doesn't want to be found and I'm not going to start a wild goose chase when he doesn't even know what he wants. Once he clears things up he knows where to find me," the blond decides, ready to board.

After sunset, Matthew sees a familiar figure coming towards him.

"Hey, Rachel!" he greets her, cheerfully.

"Are you nuts? We can't board here, someone could see us!" Rachel informs Matt, dragging him away with her.

Matthew is dressed completely in black, with nothing showy and the collar of his coat is pulled up to hide half of his face. He's wearing dark sunglasses and a hat.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Michael bursts out laughing as soon as he sees him. "Oops, I almost forgot: hi," he adds, more politely.

"It's a wise camouflage," the Englishman points out, insulted. "Anyway, why the hell are we here?" he asks them as they lurk in the shadows.

"It's simple. We wait until the operators leave, after cleaning the airplane up, and once the coast is clear, we'll hide inside, among the luggage," Michael explains.

"Do you mean that we're going to travel like stowaways?" Matthew realizes.

"Yep, that's what we do most of the time. We travel a lot, but it's so expensive that we rarely take a flight… in the proper way," Rachel reveals.

"So haven't you ever taken a flight in first class?" Matt asks them and the both shake their heads negatively. "Wait for me here," he states, leaving.

He comes back after about forty minutes.

"It's time for you to have a new experience," the pianist smiles, offering them two tickets for first class.

"Oh my, thank you!" Rachel grins and Michael nods at Matt.

"Fine. Now let's go board in the pwoper way," Matt asserts.

"The drinks, the food, the newspaper, the magazines, the earphones, the blanket, the… everything! Oh God, they treated me like a Queen!" Rachel rejoices, once they arrive at Miami.

"You are a Queen!" Michael murmurs, pulling her closer before kissing her.

"I can't believe you had never travelled in first class. After all, if you can't pay, you can always resort to hypnosis, can't you?" Matthew comments.

"Actually, we've always used it to feed or to get free access to the backstage area after shows," Michael admits.

"Yep, we had never thought about this possibility," Rachel admits.

"Funny, it seems that now I'm teaching you something," the younger vampire smirks cockily.

"Gee! Becoming a vampire made him get big-headed!" Michael whispers to Rachel, snorting.

"I can hear you…" Matthew singsongs behind them.

"Damn super hearing!" Michael grumbles, rolling his eyes and then they all burst out laughing.

"Anyway, it's not very nice acting all lovey-dovey when I have serious love problems," the front man reproaches them.

"You're right, sorry," Rachel apologises, parting from Michael, who doesn't like that one bit.

"Oh, c'mon, I was joking. Cuddle each other as much as you please… at least you two can do that," the Englishman sighs, grieving.

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry," Rachel says, caressing Matt's forearm.

"Anyway, you haven't told us about your love problems yet. You kept silent during the whole flight," Michael makes him notice.

"I'm just waiting to be in a place where no one can hear us. By the way, where are we going? Another abandoned house?" Matt deduces.

"Yep, I don't know... there's something so charming about abandoned houses," Rachel beams.

"Anyway, firstly I suggest a dinner and then I'll leave you to your girly chatting," Michael says.

"It's not girly chatting, I'll need your opinion about it too," the singer protests, before his stomach starts to rumble. "But I guess I agree with the other thing you said," he chuckles.

"… so I ran away as fast as I could," Matthew ends his tale, once they're in the abandoned house, after feeding.

"Oh poor Dominic, you left him all alone and confused," Rachel comments.

"What? I saved him. Didn't you hear me before? I was about to bite him," he clarifies, puzzled.

"It's more than normal, Matthew," Michael asserts, very calmly.

"No, it's not normal. After all, I had already fed, I wasn't hungry or anything… it wasn't supposed to happen!" Matthew insists.

"Listen, Matt, vampires don't bite just to feed: there are several types of bites, even the passion bites, which is the one you were about to do," Michael explains.

"Huh? A passion bite?" the guitarist repeats, intrigued.

"Yep, it's the bite you are urged to give to the one you love, not to hurt them; it's something different," Rachel explains.

"Oh. But I don't know what a bite like that could lead me to. It's too bloody dangerous. So is there a way not to give any bite at all?" Matthew asks.

"Of course there is. You know, usually passion and bites walk hand in hand, but if you manage to concentrate you can tear those two things apart," Michael informs him.

"Are you saying that I can be as horny as hell, but without feeling the urge to bite?" Matt wonders, fascinated.

"Yep. You know when you have to restrain from having sex you keep thinking unsexy thoughts, right? Well, it works the same way with the bites," the elder vampire reveals.

"Alright, now I know what to do, how to control the whole thing, I can go back," Matt states.

"Already? Don't you want to rest for a while?" Rachel asks him.

"No, I can't waste time anymore. I'll sleep on the flight, but thank you for your offer anyway," the front man smiles at her. "And thank you both for your help."

"Anytime," Michael shrugs with half smirk.

"But mostly thank you, Rachel, for using MSN so often; it was the only way to reach you," the singer adds.

"Well, MSN is such a great invention, just like all the social networks. I mean, it's just so easy: I meet a guy online, flirt with him a little bit and then I invite him to my place… it's like calling a delivery pizza!" Rachel chuckles, making Matt laugh. "And since Michael is allergic to the internet, sometimes I pretend to be him, using an ID I create for him and drag some girls for him to our place," she explains.

"Yeah, could a bloke be any luckier?" Michael smiles, hugging her tight before walking towards Matthew, giving him a piece of paper. "However, this is my phone number, so you won't need the stupid internet anymore," he says.

"Thank you, Sire," the pianist smiles at him, putting it inside his pocket, before hugging them both one last time and leaving.

"Well, Rachie, I bet that our dear Matthew will need our help again in a couple of weeks," the vampire states.

"I guess he will before that!" the vampiress giggles.

At late morning, Dominic wakes up, fully restored, after sleeping in the bed that he missed so much.

He walks towards the bathroom to have a shower.

As he takes his clothes off, he stares at his neck in the mirror. The hickey is still very visible, but he focusses on the less visible marks of Matt's teeth.

"Gee, Matt, you're such an animal. And there are so many other things you could do to me…" the blond daydreams, before going into the shower.

Once he's done, as he dries his hair with a towel, he takes his cordless, dialling a number. He doesn't need to think about what time it is, since now they are in the same town.

"Hello?" a female voice answers on the other end.

"Hi, Emma."

"Dom, are you back in London?" she asks him.

"Yep, the American tour is over and now we have a little break, but it's not the reason why I called you," he says.

"Is it what I think it is?" she guesses, excited for her brother.

"Yep, let's say that I have succulent news. Are you ready for a very long and detailed report?" he wonders.

"Until the last syllable, spit it out," she incites him.

"… but then he ran away, kind of scared… it doesn't make sense," he concludes after a while, a long while.

"Well, I don't think he repented of that, he was probably just a little confused by such a revelation. You know, everything is so new for both of you, it's something that could take him some time to accept it completely… anyway, I'm so happy you kissed… a sober kiss this time!" she exults.

"Yep, probably it wasn't because of alcohol that night and…" Dom says, but he stops when he hears someone ringing the bell.

"Emma, I have to go now, there's someone ringing my bell," he informs his sister.

"It's probably Matthew," she states.

"I don't think so, it'll probably be the umpteenth fan who managed to find my house, asking me for an autograph," he comments as the bell rings for the second time. "We'll talk later, or even better you could pay me a visit, one of these days," he suggests.

"Wonderful, be sure of that. See you soon, Nikky, and, trust me, don't lose your hope," she advises him, hanging up.

Dom places the cordless on the table, heading to the front door and when he opens it his heart skips a beat.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evil cliff-hanger, I know ;P
> 
> Hope you'll still like it, but feel free to tell me everything, please, do. ;)


	8. VII: I don't want you to adore me, don't want you to ignore me when it pleases you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew and Dominic's walls crumble down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, hope you'll like it, please let me know.. even with a tiny, little kudos maybe? ^^  
> Anyway, don't be shy, feel free to tell me what you think, even bad stuff if you want.. after all, I don't bite… 'this ' Matt does, lol!
> 
> Lol, guess what? I expected something hot for this chapter… instead I got fluffy and comic (?) stuff… hope it's okay anyway, after all NC17 can wait ^^
> 
> The most important thing is that it's a 300% BellDom chapter, yay! ^^
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Muscle Museum' lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter VII: I don't want you to adore me, don't want you to ignore me when it pleases you.

In front of Dominic, under the typical London misty rain, there's Matthew looking at him.

No, that's not correct; his blue sapphires are digging into the green emeralds of Dom's, as if they are trying to reach his soul.

Matt's right hand is holding the handle of his black suitcase, but his left hand is holding something; it looks like a flower, but Dom can't recognise it.

"Gee, Matt, come in, you'll catch pneumonia!" Dom exclaims, concerned, inviting the brunet in.

"Well, believe me, it won't kill me." Matt smiles, before reaching the blond and crossing the threshold.

Matthew stands by the front door as Dom takes off his drenched coat and rushes to the bathroom, coming back with some towels that he uses to dry Matthew's hair and face.

After that, Dom brings his best friend in front of his fireplace, sitting with him on the carpet.

"What's that?" Dom asks Matt, pointing at the flower he's still holding.

"It's for you, it's a narcissus," his best friend replies, showing the flower to him. It's white, with an orange inside.

"Do you know its part of a legend? Before being turned into a flower, Narcissus was a beautiful boy. Everyone fell in love with him, hopelessly, any gender, any age, and ended up killing themselves when they figured out that they couldn't have ever had him," Matthew says, as he caresses Dom's face with the soft petals of the flower. "Well, Narcissus reminds me of you. I would die for you, Dominic," he murmurs, as he skims Dom's full lips with the flower.

"But you can have me," escapes from the blonde's mouth as he snatches the flower from Matt's hand.

That's all it takes Matt to replace the flower with his lips, licking Dom's lower lip with the tip of his tongue, along the contour.

Dominic brings his hand to Matt's face, caressing him softly, as softly as the way Matt is demanding more access to his best friend's mouth.

Dom parts his lips gladly and their tongues worship each other, playing together in a kiss that is only tender and sweet.

Matthew lets his hand run through Dom's golden locks that smell of peach shampoo, as the other hand unbuttons Dom's white shirt, revealing what the brunet is searching for.

"It's still visible." the vampire smiles against the human's lips, pointing with his gaze at the hickey.

"Yeah, you did such a good job in that zone," Dominic giggles, as Matt places a soft, chaste kiss on his hickey.

"By the way, Tom and the others saw it and you can't even begin to imagine the absurd story I made up to cover us," Dom adds, as Matt tries to unbutton his shirt a little more. "Hey! Wait a minute. Stop it. Rewind. You ran away, leaving me like a fool," Dom recalls, parting from him, rudely, buttoning his shirt back up.

Matt grunts his disappoint.

"And now you think that you can come back and do all the lovey-dovey stuff? No way, Mister, it doesn't work like that. I'm not your bloody toy that you can play with whenever you please and then place it back on its shelf because you grew tired of it," Dom snaps angrily.

"Dom, you're not anything like that." Matt tries to reply, but the blonde cuts the pianist off.

"I guess you owe me some explanations, then." Dom hisses, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Can we talk later?" Matthew murmurs, trying to kiss him again.

"Now, Matthew. Now," Dominic repeats resolutely, with a tone and a look that won't listen to any objections. "Besides, the flower thingy, the way you talk, the way you move, the way you act… I don't know, this is not you, Matthew," he adds.

His only answer, Matthew chuckles.

"This is not me. Do you really think so? Oh, Dommie, I've never been myself as much as I am now. This is what I've always wanted to do, but I couldn't find the courage. Let's say that I needed a little nudge and someone gave me it."

"Who?" Dom questions him.

"Does it really matter?" Matt asks him rhetorically, as he caresses the blonde's face with the back of his hand.

"No, it doesn't," Dominic admits in a purr. "However, okay, you received the nudge you needed and, okay, you acted with me the way you did, then we kissed and I guess I showed you how much I was enjoying that. So why the hell did you run away?" he puts Matt on the spot.

Matthew takes a long, unneeded breath, before answering.

"I didn't want to hurt you," he explains, telling nothing but the truth.

"But you hurt me _because_ you ran away. I thought you had changed your mind," Dom reveals, uncomfortable.

Matt pulls him into a tight embrace.

"Oh no, Dom, never. It's just that there's so much at stake. I mean, we're best friends, what if things didn't work out? I'd lose you, both as lover and friend. I could never take it," Matt admits. "Aren't you afraid, Dominic?" he adds, parting from him.

"Every single day, but you know what? Before, when I was sure that friendship was the only feeling I could allow myself to have towards you, I accepted it, but now that I know that you feel the same about me, well… friendship is not enough anymore," Dom confesses, ruffling Matt's black, spiky, messy locks, which smell of rain and smoke. "By the way, how long have you been feeling this way?" he adds, locking his gaze with Matt's.

"A lot longer than I can recall," is the sincere and lovely answer from his best friend.

"Same answer here," the blonde smiles at the brunet, pecking his lips quickly. "So now that we made things clear… no more running away?" he asks.

"No more," the front man smiles at his beloved best friend. "You know, I was so hurt when I found out you forgot our very first kiss," he adds, grieving a little bit.

"Can you keep a secret?" Dominic whispers in Matt's ear, sucking his lobe, making the vampire moan. "I _didn't_ forget. I just pretended I did, because I thought that it would complicate things between us," he confesses.

Matt stares at Dom with astonished eyes. "Really?" he grins and Dom nods.

"Yep, after all, you had run away even that night. It wasn't very encouraging," the drummer grumbles.

"I ran away because I was sure you were kissing me only because you were drunk and I didn't want to take advantage of you," the singer justifies.

"Really? Oh my, we've been two utter idiots!" Dom bursts out laughing.

"Two utter idiots in love," Matt states, showing him his sweetest smile.

Dom beams in delight; his only answer.

"So… are we together now?" he asks for confirmation.

"As long as you want it, my Dom," Matt murmurs, holding the blonde's hands.

"I'll want it 'til the end of my days, my Matt!" the drummer jumps on him happily, straddling Matt on the floor and kissing him with all the passion and eagerness he can muster.

They roll together on the carpet as their kissing grows more demanding.

Dom tugs violently Matt's black sweater, making him understand that he wants Matt to take it off, but the brunet stops him.

"No, Dom, not now, let's go to bed," he says.

"Straight to the main goal, eh? I like this!" Dom grins mischievously.

"Wait. No, no, no! I don't mean it in that way. I mean let's go to bed and sleep," Matthew clarifies.

Dom stares at his best friend, kind of upset.

"Believe me, I'd like that, I really would… but now I need some rest. After all, I travelled a lot to get here," he justifies, yawning.

"You travelled half the world to say you belong to me," Dom smiles, quoting one of their newest songs in a reversed way, but for the sake of Matt's hearing he just confines himself to saying it without singing.

"Yeah, exactly…I would sing that to you if I wasn't so drained. Maybe I'll do later. However, you know, sleeping on flights is never real sleeping," Matt goes on, yawning for the second time.

"You're right. After all, you came from Los Angeles," Dom states.

"Actually, from Miami. Hey, wait. How do you know about Los Angeles?" the brunette wonders, dumbfounded.

"I have my sources," Dom smirks, mysteriously. "What? Did you think you were the only one with secrets?" he adds, chuckling. "Anyway, Miami? Gee, you must be exhausted."

"Pretty much." the guitarist answers with another yawn.

Dominic walks Matthew to his room and helps him get under the covers of his bed.

"You know, Dom, if you want… your days will never be over…" the vampire babbles, with his eyes already closed.

Dom doesn't get the meaning of his words.

" _Well, you must be very tired if you're rambling!"_ he reckons, amused, as he sits on the other side of the bed to keep him company.

Around six in the afternoon, restored by the energy that the night brings to him, Matthew wakes up, stirring lazily.

Still with his eyes closed, he stretches his arm to the other side of the bed and he finds out the first thing he doesn't like: he doesn't find Dominic there with him.

A little upset, as he sets his hair and caresses his neck, Matt finds out the second thing he doesn't like at all.

Something much scarier.

"MY PENDANT!" he screams, panic-stricken, pulling the covers behind to see if his necklace slipped off.

It's not that he needs it right that moment, since it's dark outside, and in any case the window is closed and the curtains are pulled. Plus, it's been raining all day long and it's cloudy.

However, it's something he desperately needs for the next days, in order to survive.

Matt examines every inch of the mattress, but there's no trace of the pendant. He tugs the covers off the bed violently, throwing them on the floor and shaking them without finding anything

"I can't have lost it, I was wearing it this morning when I got here," the vampire thinks out loud as he looks under the bed.

No, it's not even here. Maybe… he reckons, grabbing the mattress by a corner and lifting it up, being careful not to use too much strength, otherwise he would rip it out.

"Hey Matt, are you awake? I think I heard you say something," Dom shouts from the floor below, walking upstairs.

Matthew is too engrossed in his searching to hear his mate, even with his super-hearing.

"Hey! I was wondering what you would like to have for dinner and… Matthew! What the bloody hell are you doing, for God's sake?" Dom snaps, catching Matt as he's struggling with his poor mattress.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so violent … it's just that I can't find my necklace anywhere, I'm afraid I've lost it," Matt justifies, with a desperate expression, putting the mattress down.

"Do you mean the necklace with that strange pendant that you were wearing?" Dom asks naively.

"Yes! Have you seen it?" Matt asks him, hopefully.

"Actually, I took it off you as you were sleeping to make you feel more comfortable," Dominic says calmly.

"You did WHAT?" Matthew almost screams. "Trust me, it's very comfortable; I don't even realise I'm wearing it, but I realise painfully well when I'm not wearing it!"

"Gee, calm down! All this fuss over a stupid pendant! I put it in the drawer of your bedside table," the blond informs him.

Matthew opens the drawer, seeing out that his best friend is telling the truth.

"Thank you so much! However, Dom, I'm serious, don't you ever dare to do such a thing again," the vampire warns the human, wearing his precious necklace again.

"Don't worry, I won't," Dom snorts, annoyed. "Well, when you're ready come downstairs so we can go out."

"Okay, just a question, where's my stuff?"

"Here. I emptied a cupboard and some drawers for you and put all your stuff in as you were sleeping," Dom informs him, smiling.

"Wow, Dom, how many things did you do as I was sleeping?" Matt smiles back at the blond.

"Not as many as the things I'd like to do to you when you're awake!" Dom smirks sensually, getting closer to give Matt a proper kiss that makes the vampire feel dizzy.

"This was one of those things. I'll wait for you," the drummer says, walking towards the door. "Oh, one more thing, Matt."

"What?"

"DON'T YOU DARE TO LEAVE THIS ROOM WITHOUT MAKING MY BED!" he snaps, leaving.

Once he's ready, Matthew walks downstairs to his best friend who is waiting for him.

"You and I hanging out together. It sounds like a date, doesn't it?" Dom smiles, kissing him.

"Well, Dom, you and I have hung out together countless times," the brunet makes him notice.

"Yeah, but this is the first time we're going to hang out being aware of the way we feel about each other," the blonde clarifies.

"You're right. Then I guess it's our first official date, Dommie!" Matt beams, kissing the drummer once again before they leave.

After dinner, Matthew and Dominic take a stroll through the town centre, walking close to each other, but not too close.

"Well, this isn't exactly great as first date," the brunet snorts.

"Why? Aren't you having fun with me?" the blonde asks him, concerned.

"Quite the contrary: I'm having a lot of fun with you, the problem is that I'd like to have more fun… if you get what I mean," the other sneers at Dom, mischievously.

"Oh! Well, I'd like that, too, _a lot_ , but we can't," the percussionist states, sighing.

"Because we must act like we're just friends in front of everyone else's eyes," Matthew sighs as well, as something draws Dom's attention.

"Mattie, come with me," he invites him, or rather bids him, grasping his hand and running away with him.

They cross the main road and keep running until they sneak into an isolated alley.

"I don't know 'bout you, but sometimes I love the risk, just a little bit," Dom whispers, before wrapping his arms around Matt's neck, kissing him roughly.

Matt kisses his mate back with the same urgency, smashing him against the wall, without using his supernatural strength, of course.

When they part their lips burn and both of them look pretty satisfied.

"I've started to develop a soft spot for isolated alleys," the blonde smirks.

Matt nods, trying not to think about his main trouble.

Although he really enjoyed his pizza with king-sized French fries, he now feels a stronger hunger, the real one, and so far Dominic hasn't left him, not even for a minute.

Matt is more than happy to have him around, of course, but he desperately needs to be left alone for a while.

" _We've been walking around for almost forty minutes, how can it be that there's not anyone who recognises us?"_ he wonders annoyed.

"C'mon, Dommie, let's go back to the main road," he says to his best friend.

Once they're there, Matt catches a glimpse of a pub nearby.

"Hey, Dom, do you mind if we get something to drink?" he suggests.

" _If_ _ **I**_ _get something to drink?"_ he adds in his mind.

"Sure!" Dom grins, walking inside.

As soon as they reach a table, a group of five girls approaches them.

"Oh my God! But… you… you are…" one of them trails, excited as her friends.

"Yep, we are," Matthew nods with a smile and Dom mirrors his actions.

" _Thank you, my lucky stars!"_ the vampire thinks, satisfied.

"Well, well, ladies, let me guess, I bet that Dom is your favourite one, right?" Matt says, without letting them speak a word. "You know what? I feel generous tonight, so I'll let you spend some time alone with my best friend, okay? Treat him well."

" _And don't exaggerate with him, otherwise I'll have to perform a mass murder!"_ he ponders, jealous.

"Maaaaatt! Where the hell are you going?" Dom manages to say, before the girls drag him to their table.

Matt just confines himself to wave his hand goodbye and leaves.

Twenty minutes later, feeling much better, Matt observes his victims, this time two guys and a girl, as they leave, still perfectly able to walk.

" _No passed out people, just like yesterday with Michael and Rachel. I'm making huge progress,"_ the vampire ponders proudly, before heading back to the pub.

On his way, he meets Dominic, who has already left the pub.

Matthew clenches his fists and suppresses a growl when he sees the mouth-shaped red traces of lip-stick all over Dom's face, as he seems to be pretty worn out.

" _C'mon, Matt, they're just little kisses, sometimes girls do the same to you,"_ the brunet manages to calm down.

"Bells!" Dominic snaps, glaring at him. "I don't know what sodding game you were playing, but I didn't like it one bit!"

"Oh, c'mon, Dom, I've just made you do a good deed. You made some girls very happy tonight," Matt smiles innocently at him.

"I didn't mean to!" the blond protests, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You should follow my example, I spend some time with our fans," Matt strikes back.

" _And then I drink from them… but that's not the point!"_ he reckons.

"Matt, you have no bloody idea what I've gone through. They immobilised me on the bloody chair, took one thousands pictures with me as they yelled hysterically, and then… they jumped on me, famished like vampires!" Dom complains.

Matthew narrows his eyes at his mate.

"Shame on you! That's such a stupid comparison!" the guitarist hisses, walking away, deeply insulted.

"Hey, wait!" Dom runs after Matt, puzzled.

" _What did I say wrong?"_ the drummer wonders as he reaches Matthew, with a main goal, which is making his best friend understand what a proper first date means to him.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, as you can guess in next chapter they're going to have lots of (hot) fun! ^^
> 
> Hope you'll still like it, but feel free to tell me anything.
> 
> Even a little word can make my day ^^


	9. VIII: You had enough, searching for love and you miss the touch of someone new.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic and Matthew end their first date in the best way ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, thank you for reading ^^  
> ready for some hotness??

Chapter VIII: You had enough, searching for love and you miss the touch of someone new.

Dominic reaches Matthew, panting because of the running.

"Okay, Matt, it's my fault, maybe before I reacted way too harshly and if I said something that hurt you, I didn't mean it. Please, forgive me," Dom says all at once, without stopping to breathe.

"Okay, Dom, I forgive you," Matt states, turning his pissed off expression into a smile. "It's just that I don't like things that generalise. I mean, don't talk about something if you don't really know about it," he adds.

Dominic chuckles.

"Well, you're talking as if you knew that for real," he says.

"We're not talking about me, we're talking about you, it's you the one who says things that generalise!" Matt promptly defends.

Dom thinks about that for a while and nods, but then he stares at Matthew confused, frowning.

"What?" the guitarist asks.

"Let's sum up what happened: it's you who abandoned me in the pub, right?"

"Yep."

"And it's you who didn't even apologise, because you think you did me a favour, right?"

"Yep."

"Then _why the_ _hell_ am I the one who's apologising to you?" the blond wonders, scratching his head.

"Because love makes you do weird things," the brunet answers with a smirk, caressing his face.

Dominic's frown turns into a bright smile.

"You're right. By the way, I guess we've walked enough. What do you say?" the drummer states with a look that fills Matt with expectations.

They exchange an understanding look, exclaiming the same thing at the same time.

"Let's call a taxi!"

"Thank you, buddy," Dominic says, giving a generous tip to the taxi-driver, before he and Matt go out of the car, in front at Dom's house.

The two lovers take a careful look around and when they are 100% sure that the coast is clear, they kiss quickly and fervently.

"Gee, twenty-five minutes so close to you without touching you was such a cruel torture!" Dom grumbles.

"Yeah, I almost wanted to hypnotise the taxi driver, so he wouldn't have paid attention to us and we would have been free to do whatever we pleased."

Matt realises too late what he has just said.

As a matter of fact, Dom is staring at him in complete confusion.

"You wanted to do what?" he questions the brunet.

Matthew resorts to his self control, searching in his mind for the most believable answer and then he speaks.

"Well, you know, I was just talking big. I mean, wouldn't be great if you could hypnotise people?" the vampire shrugs.

"Of course it would be fantastic," Dom agrees enthusiastically.

" _Good to know that."_ Matthew smiles to himself

"Enough with the big talk, let's think about much more important stuff," the blond says, as he searches for the keys in his pocket. "Let's end our first official date the proper way!" Dom sneers, opening the door and pulling Matt inside.

They walk together, joined in a deep kiss, until they reach the closest sofa and fall over it, Matt onto Dom, giggling.

"Gee, we're worse than two teenagers in love!" Matt laughs.

"Probably because we've been craving this since we were teenagers," Dom adds, peppering Matt's faces with kisses.

"Right," Matt agrees, kissing his partner intensely.

Dom moans in delight, but then he pushes Matt away.

"We have more important stuff to do first," he informs the brunet, getting up, but Matt grabs Dom's arm, pulling him back and making the blond fall onto him.

"More important than _this_?" the vampire smirks, kissing Dom as his tapered fingers play with the percussionist's very sensitive lobes.

"Awww, this is so bloody unfair," Dom protests with a moan, but he manages to resist. "No, Matt, please stop it. Believe me, you're going to thank me later," the percussionist manages to break free, heading towards the kitchen, after taking off his coat.

Matthew can't help following his stubborn best friend, taking off his coat as well.

"You know, there's something else I did as you were sleeping," Dom says, opening the fridge. "I went to the grocery store and bought some necessary stuff," he goes on.

"Such as?" Matt questions the drummer, intrigued.

"First of all, I think we have something to celebrate, honey!" Dom says, drawing out of the fridge a bottle of champagne and raising it proudly.

Matt's eyes go wide.

"Say that again," he pleads.

"What? That we're going to celebrate?" Dom asks.

"No, the other thing," Matt says. "It sounded so good," he admits, a little awkwardly.

Dom smiles, placing the bottle back in the fridge, closing it and walking towards his mate.

"Honey, honey, honey, honey, honey," he repeats, as he cups the singer's face, kissing him sweetly, for a long time.

"I was sure that that was supposed to be girly stuff, but twuth is that I like it. Maybe I could call you baby," Matt smiles at Dom.

"Mm, baby. Niiiice!" the drummer shivers. "What about sweetie?"

Matt grimaces, horrified.

"Ew, no way, it's just too sissy!" he says, shaking his head.

"You're right," the blond nods, chuckling as he goes back to the fridge.

"Anyway, champagne is not the only thing I bought," Dom informs him, showing him a bowl of strawberries.

"Nice," Matthew smiles.

"It's not over yet," Dom states, taking a dark chocolate bar.

He cuts it into little pieces and puts them in a small saucepan, adding some cream.

"Uh-uh, what are you planning?" Matthew walks closer to him.

"You'll see," Dom smiles as he heats it up in a bain-marie, blending it with a wooden spoon.

Matt stands behind the blond, letting his hands slip under Dom's grey sweater and black T-shirt, coming in touch with his smooth back.

Dom doesn't shiver because of the cold, since the blood Matt drank can keep him warm for a few hours, but he shivers due to the pleasure.

"Mm, what a good smell!" Matthew purrs, as his hands go up and down on Dominic's skin.

"Yeah, I know, hot chocolate always smells so good," Dom replies as he keeps blending.

"I wasn't talking about the chocolate," Matt points out as he smells his mate's nape, placing soft kisses on it.

"Maaaaaaaatt, you'll make me spill the chocolate!" Dominic moans as he tries his best to remain concentrated on his task.

"Who cares?" Matt shrugs.

"C'mon, Mattie, behave. I swear it will be worth it," Dom insists and the brunet obliges, parting from him.

Once the chocolate is ready, Dom pours it carefully into a fondue set, lighting up the little stove and taking it to the living room and setting it on the floor, along with the strawberries.

Matthew follows his mate and they sit on the carpet.

There are the proper forks to use, but for some reasons Dominic prefers to use his hands.

He takes one of the strawberries and dips it into the hot chocolate, blowing on it.

"Well, it looks good," Matt comments, but the drummer gestures to his partner to shut up, leaning closer to him.

The blond holds the guitarist's face still with a hand, as with the other hand he smears the chocolate from the strawberry all over Matt's lips and then he kisses him.

"Mm… chocolate kiss," the blond purrs at the end, as Matt looks satisfied.

Dom drops the strawberry into the chocolate, repeating all the previous actions, but this time he makes Matt bite the strawberry and when he does Dom kisses him deeper than before.

The taste of the chocolate mixed with the red fruit and their own tastes mingled together is something indescribable.

"Gee!" Matt exclaims when they part. "Did you use to do this stuff with your former lovers?" Matt asks Dom, as a tiny pang of jealousy hits him.

"Yeah, but only because I was practising in order to do the same with you one day, if the day would ever come," Dominic murmurs against his lips.

"I guess that the day definitely came!" Matt chuckles, kissing the blond harder, as his hand searches for a strawberry in the bowl.

"Can… can I try?" the vampire asks the human, a little shyly.

"Nope, you can't. You must," Dom orders, smirking.

Matt dips the strawberry in the chocolate and mirrors Dom's previous actions, making the blond moan, but then he needs more, so he tugs Dom's sweater.

"You have a choice: you can take it off on your own or I'm going to rip it off you," he says, or rather growls.

"Raaawwrr! You're horny, aren't you? Good." Dom giggles, taking off both his designer sweater and t-shirt, for good measure.

Matthew caresses Dom's bare chest, slowly, repetitively, almost as if he was trying to imprint it in his mind, and he traces his skin with a strawberry dipped in chocolate, from his breastbone to his belly, licking it off his way.

"Oh, God!" Dom beams, rolling his head back.

Matt looks at his exposed neck, but he manages to control himself and concentrates on the drummer's abs.

Dom looks at Matt with a lustful glint in his green-grey eyes, now darkened with desire.

He straddles Matt, takes off his black sweater and rips off all the buttons of his white shirt, opening it to explore his pale, thin chest.

"Hey, Mr. Eager, calm down!" Matt laughs, enjoying that violent initiative from his horny best friend.

"I can't, I've been waiting for years!" Dom growls back. "Plus, I can do what I've just done, because you don't wear designer stuff like I do," he adds, before covering Matt's chest, stomach, belly and happy trail with kisses.

"Aren't you going to use the strawberries anymore?" Matt asks his partner, almost disappointed.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm going to use them again, I'm just waiting for the proper moment," the drummer sneers, soaking a strawberry in the chocolate with one hand, as with the other hand he unzips Matt's black jeans and discards his black boxers. "Which is now!" he adds with a sinful grin.

"Hello, object of my desires!" Dom says, as he can't wait to take all the possible advantages of Matt's throbbing and hard cock.

"Hey, it's not fair; I wanted to do that first!" Matt complains… well, 'complains' is not the proper word, since he's staring at his mate with great expectations.

"It's your fault, you wasted your opportunity. Besides, the fondue idea was mine," Dom strikes back, as he proceeds to cover a certain zone of Matt with chocolate, along all his length, and then the blond ate that strawberry in front of Matthew's eyes in the most sensual way he could, moaning all the time.

This just makes Matt even harder for him.

"Fuck! You tease, get done with the bloody strawberry and do something!" he urges him.

Dom gives him an angelic smile before bending his head over and, with his mouth, he drives his excited best friend crazy.

"Oh my… that was… fucking wow!" Matt exclaims as he pulls his boxers on again.

"Yep, you taste so good, chocolate or not," Dom smirks. "But there are some side effects now," he adds.

"Such as?" Matthew raises his eyebrow.

"My jeans are so much tighter. Would you care to help me with that?" the blond asks the brunet rhetorically.

Less than half second after, probably thanks to his supernatural speed, Matt has already taken off Dom's grey pants and pulled down his white boxers, asnd he holds a strawberry covered with chocolate.

"Wow! Fucking wow! Dammit, why the bloody hell did we wait for so long to do this stuff?" Dom comments at the end, utterly pleased, as he redresses himself.

"Well, don't worry, we'll make up for all the lost time," Matt assures him.

" _We could have a whole eternity for that,"_ he reckons, smiling at that thought.

He pulls Dominic closer and kisses him savagely, straddling him.

"You know, Matt, I thought about you, too, that's why I haven't bought only strawberries but also bananas," Dom informs the brunet.

Matt immediately parts from him and rushes towards the kitchen.

"Where, where, WHERE?" the vampire asks the human eagerly.

Dom chuckles and reaches his craving best friend in the kitchen, opening a cupboard and giving him his favourite fruit.

"Here, enjoy it!"

Matthew peels it and bites into the sugary fruit, happy like a child.

"Well, I expected you to eat it in a sexier way. After all, I gave you a very nice show with the strawberry before," Dominic grumbles.

"I can't. I'm enjoying this too much. You can't understand; I haven't eaten a banana for a life-time!" Matt justifies, with his mouth full.

"You're exaggerating as usual!" Dom laughs, ignoring that the singer is telling the truth. "Well, could you at least avoid chomping?" he requests. "Oh, no, wait. You know what? For some disturbing reason, I find that… sexy!" he admits.

As he keeps eating his beloved banana, Matt takes a glimpse of the fondue set in the living room.

"Can I?" he asks.

"Sure!" Dom nods, following him.

The front man dips the remaining part of the banana in the chocolate, blowing on it, but he doesn't eat it.

He walks closer to the drummer, handing it to him.

Dominic bites that gentle offer and then Matt smashes his lips against the blond's for a sweet-long kiss.

"Mm. Banana and chocolate and you. There couldn't be a better flavour in the world," the brunet moans, satisfied.

" _Well, blood it would be the icing on the cake, but I can't have everything,"_ he ponders.

Feeling that the oh so craved moment has finally come, Dom takes Matt's hand.

"Let's go to bed," he says.

"Nope, let's do that here, I prefer it," the pianist suggests. "Also because… Dommie, you know, actually I still have to make the bed up," he confesses.

"YOU WHAT? Damn you, Bells, I swear that I'm going to…" Dom snaps, but Matt promptly shuts him up with a passionate kiss, laying down the carpet and straddling him.

"Oh, bugger the bloody bed, do it now!" Dom urges his lover, tugging his hair to pull him closer and kiss him, before switching their positions.

Dominic caresses Matthew's chest and then he starts to scratch it lightly.

"More!" Matt orders with a moan.

Dominic obliges, scratching his skin a little bit harder.

"Deeper, deeper, make me see blood!" Matt pleads, or rather his demon does.

"Gee, Matt, you're scaring me now," Dom frowns, before an important questions pops into his mind. "Did you do this disturbing stuff with all your previous lovers?"

"Nope, you're the first. I feel this urgency now!" Matt admits, locking his gaze with Dom's. "Please, baby, please me," he whispers.

"I guess it's an enough satisfying answer," Dom smirks, sinking his nails into Matt's skin as the vampire hisses in pleasure.

"Cool!" the brunet smiles when he sees four tiny red lines close to his right nipple.

He kisses Dom, rolling on the carpet with him and landing on the drummer.

Matt kisses Dom's left shoulder and goes down along the forearm and arm, until he reaches the drummer's wrist.

He holds it between his thumb and index finger, feeling the pulse, feeling the warmness of his blood.

Matthew raises Dom's wrist and brings it to his own mouth, parting his lips and allowing his tongue to lick it.

"Matt… what are you doing... oh, God!" Dom jolts, closing his eyes.

Matt begins to suck his wrist, lightly first and then a little harder, biting it softly with his blunt teeth.

"Fuck! That wasn't supposed to be one of my pleasure zones. How can you do that? You do magic with your mouth!" Dom almost screams.

Matt chuckles against his wrist.

"Actually, I do magic with my eyes."

Dominic doesn't get the meaning of that answer, but he doesn't bother with it, especially when Matt sucks his wrist even harder.

Too bad that Matthew realises that something is about to change inside himself and he must do something to prevent it.

" _C'mon, recall Rachel and Michael's advice. Helpful thoughts, helpful thoughts… I got it. Holy water. Holy water, holy water. !"_ he concentrates and manages to pull off Dom's wrist without doing any damage.

Dom stares at Matt, deeply into his eyes.

"Matthew, do you remember the night of our very first kiss? When I told you that I wanted you to be able to rely on me for anything? I mean it," he murmurs, as he caresses Matt's cheek. "Stop searching for love, baby, you found it," he smiles sweetly.

"Oh, Dominic!" Matthew beams, pecking his mate's lips.

"Take me, Matthew," Dom almost orders his best friend.

Without saying anything else, Matthew takes off their boxers once again.

Although it's their first time, everything is so astonishingly natural between the two lovers, every move, every gesture, every push, every word, every moan, every scream, every pant, everything.

Matt comes inside Dom and bends over the drummer's neck, making the blond come as well.

This time holy water is not enough and the vampire has to think to stakes, holy crosses, churches and all the Van Helsing characters he has seen in the horror movies to refrain and parts from him mate, sitting next to him.

"No hickey?" Dom asks Matt, rather upset, grasping his shoulders.

"Nope, it's better if I don't," the brunet replies.

"Fine. It means that tonight _I_ ' m going to play the vampire!" the blond chuckles, before jumping on Matt and attacking the left side of his neck, sucking hard and scraping the skin with his teeth.

"Bloody hell! Oh fuck, oh, god, oh, Doooom!" Matt screams, a slave of the pleasure, as Dom notices something else, extremely pleased.

"Well, well, it seems that someone is ready for a second round!" he sneers.

When they're done, kissing one last time, they quickly pull on their clothes again and fall asleep together, on the carpet, too worn out to reach the bedroom and make up the bed.

As Dom hugs Matt, sleeping on his chest, he's just too happy and his heart beats too hard to figure out that it's the only heart that's beating.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, in many book and movies and TV series, although vampires are technically dead, they can shag like bunnies anyway, no one wonders how, they just do, lol.
> 
> So Matt can do that as well, of course! ^^
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you'll like it, feel free to tell me whatever you please, as always.


	10. IX: Your hard times are ahead.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew doesn't decide to tell the truth and Dominic jumps to the worst conclusion ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading ^^
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Butterflies & Hurricanes' lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter IX: Your hard times are ahead.

Dominic twists and turns on the carpet, wrapped inside the warmness of the covers.

" _Wait a minute. Covers?"_ he silently wonders, popping his eyes open.

He turns to the other side, without finding Matthew there.

He snorts, disappointed, and then he analyses the covers better; they are the ones that were on his bed.

The blond start hypothesising something, and when he hears some noises coming from the bedroom his theories find confirmation.

He goes upstairs, catching Matthew as he's making the bed.

"See? I've kept my promise, after all. I found the drawer of sheets and I thought we needed new covers to start our new life together," Matthew explains as he fluffs the pillows.

Dom beams and walks closer to his mate.

"Sounds good," he murmurs, wrapping his arms around Matt's neck. "So yesterday wasn't a dream, it happened for real."

"Of course it did, and it was something amazingly beautiful," Matt whispers, resting his forehead against Dom's before kissing him good and proper.

As soon as he notices something, Dominic breaks the kiss, parting from him.

"Hey! How can it be? Your hickey, I mean, my hickey… I mean, the hickey I left on your neck has already faded away," he comments and then he rolls Matt's shirt up, needing to check something else out.

"And the scratches are gone!" he says, in a mix of surprise and … disappointment.

Matt must think fast.

"Well, my dear, don't be so astonished. After all, you didn't try hard enough, besides, I happen to have very quick and efficient platelets!" Matt justifies, shrugging, and then he looks better at his best friend.

"See? The hickey I left on your neck has gone," he states, a little upset.

He liked seeing that. A lot.

"Yeah, but after _three days_!" Dom makes the brunet notice, and then he stares at him with puppy eyes. "Would you like to leave another one on my neck?"

Matt gulps as his mind loses itself in tons of thoughts.

" _I'd like, my Dominic, I'd like that more than everything else in the world, I'd like to give you so much more than a simple hickey, but I can't. Not now, at least, there are things to explain, secrets to find out, truths to accept, although it won't be easy at all, it takes time,"_ the vampire thinks.

"Matt? Are you still here?" Dom asks his best friend, seeing him so absorbed.

"Huh? Yeah, it's just that I'm starving, c'mon, Dom, let's go have breakfast!" the singer changes topic, shrewdly.

Once they are in the kitchen, opening the fridge to take the necessary stuff, Dom notices something.

"Gee! We didn't even open the champagne yesterday!" he comments.

"That's better. Let's save it so maybe we'll celebrate something even more important," Matthew asserts as he fries two eggs.

"Huh? Do you mean something important like, I don't know, winning a Grammy?" Dominic hazards with dreamy eyes, as he fries some bacon.

"Yeah, sort of," Matt snorts.

" _A stupid Grammy couldn't ever give you eternal life, youth and happiness… I could,"_ he reckons as he flips the eggs in the saucepan.

(Days go by)

Days go by and the more Dominic and Matthew make sweet or rough love, the more Matthew gets accustomed to it, managing to refrain and control his demon's instincts, with a concentration that could make a hermit or a fakir envious.

The most difficult part is feeding, the feeding he really needs.

Matthew seems to be very creative about that, since he keeps finding excuses and/or situations to get to remain alone for a while.

Sometimes he goes out, taking a walk when outside it's raining cats and dogs and Dom doesn't feel like following his mate at all, of course.

When Dom goes out with Matt, the pianist keeps saying that he needs to go to bathroom, even three to four times per night.

In those cases, Matthew can't look for some fans, his favourite treats, but he must be content with whoever he manages to find on his way.

One night, Matt has even pretended to convince Dom to do something extremely childish, but cute, such as playing Hide and Seek, making Dom believe that he was so good at hiding that it took Matt almost forty minutes to find him.

Actually, Matt has easily found his partner, immediately after feeding, resorting to his senses, since he can feel Dom's presence, Dom's breaths, Dom's heartbeats… everything about him.

This is their fifth night together, they're having a dinner in a restaurant and Matthew has to pretend once again that he needs the bathroom.

Saying that, he has the time to go out through the bathroom window, find at least three people wandering around, hypnotise them, isolate them, feed, fix things and come back from the bathroom, satisfied.

He sits at the table, as Dom already ordered the desserts for them both: strawberries with ice-cream for himself and a banana split for Matt.

"Mmm… strawberries and banana. Hey, Mr. Sexy-Memories, are you trying to remind me of something we did a few nights ago?" the brunet asks the blond, rhetorically, as they eat.

"Maybe. What I know for sure is that I want to do that again," Dom smirks.

"Of course we'll do. Besides, you know what? The ice-cream is giving me some ideas," Matthew sneers, mischievously.

"Let's go home!" Dom orders, making Matt laugh.

"Let's finish our desserts first. Besides, I want a coffee too."

"Right." the drummer nods.

(After a while)

As they go back home, around 11:30 p.m., taking a walk since the restaurant is not very far from Dom's house, a little girl who looks nothing more than ten years old walks over them.

"Hey. I know you! You're the people who always play on TV or on the radio and Mommy loves your music!" she says, pointing to a woman not far from there, with her back turned as she is busy talking into her mobile.

Matt and Dom assume the woman to be the little girl's mother.

"Yep, little lady, it's us," Dom smiles sweetly at her.

He's always been keen on kids.

Matt smiles at her the same way, nodding.

"You're the one who is super-super-super-good at playing guitar and singing!" the little girl says.

Matthew beams.

"And you're the one who is super-super-super good playing the sdrum!" she goes on.

"Drums," the blond corrects her, giggling as the little girl shrugs, turning to him again. "Mommy says she's in love with you, but only when Daddy can't hear her," she reveals, making both of her listeners laugh.

Out of the blue, something catches the little girl's whole attention.

"Cool!" she exclaims, pointing at Matt's pendant.

Matt smiles.

"Do you like it?"

The little girl nods.

"Can you give it to me?"

Matt jolts.

"Nope."

"Why?"

"It's mine."

"But you have tons of necklaces, you can give it to me," she states.

"No, I can't!"

Dom chuckles, getting closer to Matt.

"It looks like you found someone who is even more stubborn than you," he whispers in his mate's hear.

"I'm sorry, little lady, I can't give you this necklace, I'm very fond of it," the brunet asserts.

"Why?"

"Because I am!"

"But… I can give you something if you give me your necklace."

"What?" Matthew finds himself asking that absurd question.

"I can give you this," she replies, stretching her arm out, making Matt notice something he hadn't seen yet: a very showy bracelet.

"See? It changes colour if I press this button. Plus, there are coloured aliens on it that shine," she explains, showing him her glittery bracelet as it changes from red to pink to green to blue.

Matt stares at it, fascinated.

" _Gee, Matt, think about it, the pendant makes you immune to sunlight, that stupid bracelet does not! Yeah, yeah, but that bracelet is anything but stupid! Okay, okay, no bloody exchange!"_ the vampire decides, after duelling with his conscience.

Dom keeps observing the whole scene, pretty amused.

"Although your bracelet is very cool, I can't accept your offer," Matt explains, walking closer to the little girl and kneeling down, to face her better.

"Let's do things this way, little lovely thing," he murmurs, drawing out a plectrum from his pocket.

"What if I give you this, so then you can ask Mommy to buy you a guitar and play with it, becoming as good as me or maybe even better. What do you think?" he suggests.

The little girl shakes her head negatively, annoyed.

"No way, I want this. C'mon, gimme it!" she says, stretching her arm out in order to touch the pendant.

Matthew foresees her intentions and must resort to all his self-control not to growl at her.

He grips her wrist firmly, maybe even way too firmly and stares scarily serious at her.

"Listen, Missy. Didn't Mommy teach you that it's not very nice to touch other people's stuff?" he says, very calmly, but very coldly, too.

The little girl looks at him with teary eyes, but Matthew is impassable.

"Don't you dare to do such a thing again. And now go away!" he concludes, letting her free.

"You're evil!" the little girl cries, rushing towards her mother, as Matt drags Dom away with him.

"Mommy, Mommy!" she calls out, and the woman stops talking into the mobile, finally turning to her crying daughter.

"Oh, my! Honey, what happened? Did you hurt yourself?" she asks her, in concern.

"Nope. I met the band you like, but they weren't very nice to me," her daughter tells her.

"Amanda, how many times did I tell you not to tell lies?" the woman warns her.

"But it's not a lie, it was the brunet and the blond and the brunet scolded me, he's evil!" she insists.

"You probably met two guys who looked like them a little bit and you got confused. Anyway, the guy who scolded you was right, you shouldn't ever walk away on your own! Now, let's go home!" the woman scolds her daughter, taking her away, ignoring her protests.

"Gee, Matt, are you nuts? It was only a little girl, for God's sake!" Dom snaps, as they head towards home.

"So what? I can't stand spoiled kids. Chris' kids would never act that way," Matthew justifies with a shrug.

"I know, but, after all, she just wanted to…"

"Well, Dom, what would you have done if she had wanted you to give her the cuff-links of your Dior shirt?" Matt makes things difficult for Dom.

"Huh! Right, Matt, I guess you did the right thing!" Dominic changes his mind.

"However, guess what, baby?" Matt says.

"What?"

"I want a bracelet like that!" the brunet states, making the blond laugh.

Too bad that Matthew is damn serious about that.

After a few blocks, they reach Dom's house.

They get in and Dom leaves for a while. Matt stands in the living room, as he ponders that maybe that could be the proper moment to tell his lover the truth.

"Dominic, I guess there's something you should know," he states, but then he sees the drummer walking towards him as he hold a pot of ice-cream and a spoon.

"Do you really want to talk tonight, honey? You know, someone told me that ice-cream gave him certain interesting ideas…" the blond hints, very mischievously.

" _Okay, I guess I can tell him tomorrow,"_ Matt establishes, ready to enjoy a very good time with his kinky best friend, who is as kinky as Matt.

(The day after)

The day after, they wake up at 11:00 a.m. .

Although they came back at midnight, they stayed up until late, very late, having lots of fun, so they needed some rest.

Matt wakes up first, taking advantage of that to contemplate his sleeping lover.

"' _Dominic, guess what? I'm a vampire.' No, this is way too direct. 'Who has two pointy, elongated canines, flashing eyes, and adores drinking blood? Me!' Err... no, I can do better than that,"_ Matt ponders, until he sees Dominic stirring, and then he pops his eyes open, smiling when they meet Matt's.

"Morning, love," the blond murmurs.

"I think that I like 'love' even more than 'honey'," Matthew beams.

"So can you call me that, too? I want to know how it feels," Dom asks.

"Of course, love," Matthew smiles at him, pecking his lips.

"Mm… it feels so damn good!" the drummer grins, straddling Matt in order to place kisses all over his face.

"Dominic, I…" Matt starts, but Dom cuts him off.

"Do you want to know what I'm thinking, Matthew? That when something is so utterly perfect you don't want anything to spoil it!" Dom states, holding Matt tight.

" _No way, I can't tell him now,"_ Matt changes his mind.

"So, were you about to say something?" Dominic wonders.

"Yeah, let's go have breakfast, I'm starving," Matt says, pushing Dom away gently and getting up.

"Gee, Bells, you're impossible! You're always starving!" Dom laughs.

"Yeah, especially at night," escapes from the vampire's lips.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. So, Starbucks, baby?" the singer suggests.

The drummer grins, nodding excitedly.

"I'm always up for it. Just let me have a quick shower and then we can go," Dom says.

"Do you mind if we take that shower together?" Matt asks, sensually.

"Of course I do, since it wouldn't be a _quick_ shower anymore!" Dom chuckles, kissing the tip of Matt's nose. "Be right back."

While Dom is in the shower, the telephone rings.

He can't hear it so, at the fifth ring, Matthew decides to pick the call up for him.

"Hallo?"

"Matt?" a female voice exclaims.

Matt frowns.

"You are…?"

"It's me, Emma!"

"Oh, hi, Emma, how are you? Well, let me just clear a point, it's not that I knocked your brother out and took possession of his house, it's just that he's busy right now," the frontman points out.

"Don't worry, I didn't think anything like that," Emma giggles. "Actually, I'm very glad that you are there," she adds.

"Really? Why?" he frowns again.

"I'll tell you when I see you… maybe. By the way, tell Dominic that I'm coming to visit him today; I'll be there for lunch, okay? I don't need his answer, since mine is not a question, it's a pure statement. See you later, guys," she hangs up.

"Doooooooom!" Matt yells.

"What? Dom pops out from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a black towel around his waist.

"Emma is coming here, for lunch. She has just called to inform you," Matt reveals, as he devours his partner… with his eyes.

"Great! I can't wait to see her again. Okay, let me get dressed so we can leave," Dom says, but Matt tugs at the towel around his waist.

"Why all this hurry?" the vampire purrs.

"Excuse me; you were starving, weren't you?" Dom makes him notice.

"Correct. I'm still starving, but it's another kind of appetite now. You know, suddenly I feel the urgency to have a shower and I guess you didn't have a proper one, get back in there… with me." Matthew smirks and Dom surrenders.

(After a while)

"Emma!" Dom exclaims, rushing to the door as soon as she rings the bell and hugging her tight.

"Well, we need to be apart more often if this is the way you welcome me back," she smiles, hugging her brother back.

"Hey, Dom, if Matt is here it means that…" she hints, looking at the blond hopefully.

"Yeah, that morning, it was him at the door. I'm going to tell you everything, but later!" the drummer grins madly.

"I'm so happy for you, Nikky!" she whispers, hugging him again.

"I am, too. Come on, Matt is in the living room waiting for us," Dom informs her, as he leads her.

"Hey, Emma!" Matthew cheers, waving his hand and smiling at her.

"So, Matt, did you come here to spend some time with your beloved best friend?" she teases him.

Matt jolts.

"What? Nope, it's just that I didn't know where to spend my winter holidays, so I took advantage of it to keep Dom company; he invited me."

Dom nods and smiles, hugging Matt tight, rubbing his cheek against the singer's as he stares at his sister.

"Aww, wasn't he lovely?" he murmurs.

Matt jolts again, parting from Dom and pretending to be disgusted.

"Dammit, Dom, what the hell is wrong with you? I don't know, Emma, sometimes your brother is scarily sissy!" Matthew makes fun of him, with nonchalance.

Emma and Dominic exchange an understanding look.

"Well, Emma, I don't know why my Mattie acts so shyly when it's a matter of being tender in front of someone," Dom shrugs.

If possible, Matt becomes even paler.

"Dom, are you nuts? Quit it, bloody quit it!" he whispers in his mate's ear in a commanding tone.

"Okay, let's eat, I guess that's better," Dom says as they all take their seats at the table.

They spend half of lunch in this way: Emma teasing and hinting, Dom acting extra-confidentially with Matt, on purpose, and Matt denying the undeniable.

When Dom brings the second serving dish to the table, he winks at Emma.

"Hey, Big Sis, I guess we can tell him now."

"Tell me what?" Matt frowns as he cuts his fillet.

"She knows," Dominic explains to his partner.

"Yeah, I know and I approve one hundred per cent!" Emma smiles at the guitarist as she puts some salad on her plate. "You have no idea how many times I've been Dom's shoulder to cry on whenever he thought that you didn't feel the same way about him," she adds.

"Oh," is all Matt manages to say. "Really?" he whispers to Dom and the drummer nods.

"So now, my dear lovey-dovey, would you mind telling me how it finally happened?" she asks them.

(After a while)

After lunch, as Dominic cleans the kitchen up, Emma takes Matt to the side.

"Matthew, we have to talk. Let's go outside," she suggests and, a little doubtful, Matt obliges.

"I guess I've never seen Dominic so happy, you know," she starts and Matthew beams.

"I've never been so happy as well," he states.

"That's why I don't want anything bad to happen," she goes on, changing tone and expression, now colder.

"So, Matthew, I find you nice, pleasant and everything, but if you dare to make my little bother suffer, I swear that I'm going to put a stake into your heart!" she threatens him.

Matthew stares at the woman terrified.

"Oh, c'mon, Matt. It's something people say, I don't mean it literally. Let's say that I gave you _the speech_." Emma clarifies, smiling at him again.

"Yeah, I know, but…. why just the stake? I mean, you could kill me in one thousand other ways, poison me, slit my throat, strangle me, suffocate me, stab me, set me on fire… why the stake?" Matt says, very agitated.

Emma shrugs.

"I don't know, it seemed the most painful way to do it," she justifies. "Let's go back inside," she adds.

" _What do all the Howards have against vampires?"_ Matt wonders silently and puzzled, as he follows her.

(After a while)

"Well, I think I have to go," Emma states, at around 5:00 p.m. "I need to catch the bus."

"Did you come here on the bus?" Dom asks and she nods.

"No way, I'll give you a ride. Let's go. Matt, I'll be right back," the blond says to the brunet on his way out.

"You know, I needed some time to talk with you alone," Dom confesses as they get inside his car.

"Do you mean some spicy particulars about your life together? Please, spare me the details, I'm your sister, after all!" she says as he drives towards the highway.

"Not exactly. Well, let's just take you home. I've got to concentrate on driving. We'll talk once we're there," Dom decides.

Forty minutes after, Dom parks his car at Emma's house.

"Emma, I'm afraid that Matthew is betraying me," he states.

"What? Are you joking?" his sister laughs, but then she notices how serious her brother is.

"Since he's come here, Matt keeps trying to be left alone and he even finds ridiculous excuses for that, such as playing Hide and Seek with me or constantly needing to go to the bathroom. It's obvious that he's hiding something from me, and what do you mostly typically hide? A secret lover!" Dom explains. "Yeah, I'm sure that every time he's alone, Matt calls his lover!"

"Oh, please, Dom, don't be ridiculous. You don't have any proof," Emma dissuades him.

"You're wrong, I do. You know, when I was setting his things in my room, I was holding one of his jackets and something fell from the pocket: it was a sheet of paper with a phone number and a name on,: Michael," the blond informs her.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure there's a plausible explanation for that," Emma insists.

"There's more, Matthew always wears a necklace with a pendant that he's bloody fond of. Well, I'm sure that that pendant is a gift from that Michael!" the percussionist adds, jealous.

"Now stop your paranoia and listen to me. I guess I'll repent for this question, but… have you and Matt been making love ?" she asks him.

"Of course; we do very, very often, even too much, maybe. By the way, last time was before you arrived!" Dom giggles, proudly.

"Eww, Dom! Sister here!" she snaps.

"Sorry," Dom mutters, guilty.

"However, see? This is a very positive thing. Whoever has another lover never makes love with his official partner very willingly and it seems that's not Matt's case, right?" she makes him notice.

"Not at all, he would take me every time, everywhere, every way, every-"

"Dom!" she warns him, embarrassed.

"Sorry, damn me and my naughty mouth!" he apologises again.

"The most important thing is that, whenever Matthew talks about you, his eyes shine. They tended to do that even before, but now that you're together, it's much more evident. So please, Dom, don't see drama when there's none. Matthew loves you. Matthew cares about you."

"I know, but maybe something changed and now he's losing interest," the blond grumbles.

"What? Oh, please! I remember what you told me before and, trust me, when someone crosses half world to say he belongs to you, he won't lose interest very easily," Emma comforts her brother. "So, cheer up, Dominic. I'm sure that you have nothing to fear," she states.

"However, if you're so damn curious to see what he does whenever you're not with him, well… just follow him, so you'll see that everything is more than okay between you," the woman advises him.

"Thank you, Emma, you're the best sister in the whole Universe!" he hugs her.

"I know," she grins, hugging him.

(After a while)

After dinner, Matthew has certain needs and he must do something about it.

"You know, Dommie, after all I ate today, I guess that I really need to take a long, long walk, it will help me feel better," he says, pretending to have a stomach upset. "Would you like to join me?" he adds.

"No, honey, I couldn't move a muscle. I guess that the best way to digest all this stuff is to laze in front of the TV. You can go," Dom states.

As he leaves, Matt gets lost in his thoughts.

" _No matter what, when I come back I'm going to tell him, for definite. I can't go on like this,"_ he decides.

Dom observes Matthew from the window, as he recalls Emma's words.

"' _Just follow him, so you'll see that everything is more than okay between you'."_

He grabs his coat, leaving the house as well.

" _That's what I'm going to do!"_

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad cliffhanger, I know *laughs evilly*
> 
> What will happen? You'll find in next chapter.
> 
> Hope you like it so far ^^


	11. X: Your brain needs some assistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic finds out the truth. How will he react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading ^^  
> please, keep sticking around, this is going to be a looooong story
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Escape' lyrics, by Muse.
> 
> Warning: I'd never thought I would say one day but… angst!

Chapter X: Your brain needs some assistance

" _I don't know why, but I don't believe much that you're simply going to take a walk, Matthew,"_ Dom considers, as he, very carefully, stalks his boyfriend.

The blond pulls the high collar of his black coat up to his nose in order to protect himself from the cold London night, but mostly from anyone's chance of recognising him; that's why he also lowers his woollen cap a little more, covering his forehead.

It's quite funny; usually it's Dom who likes the attention and tries to be as showy as he can, whilst Matt is more reserved and defences his privacy as if it was the most precious thing ever, but now the roles are totally reversed.

" _Okay, I have my reasons to do that; I must remain hidden, like every proper stalker, but what's your point, Matt? You're hanging around so openly, trying to draw attention to yourself so much that all you're missing is a bloody poster with 'Hey, everyone, I'm Matthew Bellamy from Muse, come here!'; a glittery poster, knowing your taste,"_ the drummer thinks, just as serious as he is pissed off, especially when he sees Matthew looking around every corner, desperately trying to meet someone.

" _Well, at least you're not on the phone with someone. Wait… maybe are you going to directly meet that guy here?"_ Dom starts to nervously figure out as he keeps following Matt, as silently as he can.

After all, Matthew is too focussed on his own hunger to feel Dominic's presence.

" _Geez! What happened to the bloody people tonight? There's no one around. I'm almost tempted to bloody ring at the first house, randomly, and act like a hooker, a delivery boy, a Jehovah's Witness… any bloody thing to make them invite me inside their house or pop out to perform in my bloody show. Wait. I'd better quit saying 'bloody', it reminds me of blood way too much, I'm not helping myself!"_ Matt reckons, uncomfortably, before seeing three girls leaving their house.

" _Bingo! Let's see if I am even luckier."_ The vampire smiles to himself, as he walks towards them.

"Hello, ladies, are you do…"

"Oh, my God, my GOD, MYYY GOOOOOOOOOD! I can't believe it! Matt Bellamy!" the first girl says as the other two confine themselves to screaming madly.

" _Yes, I am,"_ Matt answers mentally as he smiles at them.

"Hey, sweeties, would you mind joining me for a walk?" he casually asks them, already knowing what their answer will be.

From afar, Dom sees Matt acting nicely to three good-looking strangers, before they follow the singer.

It's useless to say that jealousy is devouring the gorgeous blond's heart.

" _You bastard, nasty, horrible, disgusting, shameful betrayer. Is this your fucking way of loving me and caring about me? Now I'm going to make the queen of the scenes to you, ugly bastard! Okay, not ugly... just a bastard!"_ he ponders, more pissed off than he has ever been.

When he sees Matt isolating the girls, taking them inside an alley, his anger increases.

" _You're heartless. That's one of_ _ **our**_ _alleys. You used to do stuff there with me and only me! This is the final straw."_

Dom increases his pace, heading towards that alley, as rage makes his blood boil.

When Dom arrives he sees that there are two girls, resting against the wall, almost as if they were waiting for their turn, but they seem to be numb; their faces are expressionless and they seem to be unaware of what's going on around them.

In the meantime, Matthew is taking care of the third girl; he's already bent over her, kissing her neck… or, at least, Dominic mistakes it for a kiss.

The drummer can't hold off for a second longer. He doesn't care if someone finds out about them, he doesn't care if this is going to fuck up their career, he doesn't care if they will end up on the cover of every gossip magazine. All he wants to do is to make Matt feel like shit, right there, right now.

"Matthew, you fucking bastard!" he screams at the top of his lungs, rushing towards him.

Caught off guard, Matthew jolts, immediately parting from his victim and staring at Dom, who notes that there's something scarily wrong in Matt's eyes.

They are unnaturally blue, almost white, and they're shining in an unnatural way, and this time Dom is sure that it's not because a street lamp is playing some tricks.

Dom is so captured by Matt's eyes that he hasn't yet noticed the drops of blood trickling down the left side of the brunet's mouth.

It's only a few seconds, but they seem to last for hours and Matthew is just too shocked to do anything, to make a single move.

Finally, Dominic notices the blood on Matt's lips and chin and, even more terrified, he notices two tiny red punctures on the girl's neck.

"Oh, God! What the fucking hell are you doing? Are you crazy? You're hurting that poor girl! You are such a..."

Dominic can't talk anymore because, resorting to his supernatural quickness, Matt has reached him, gagging the drummer's mouth with his hand.

"Be quiet, it's not what you think. I can explain," he justifies, but Dom breaks free from his grip, kind of rudely. That's only because Matt wasn't using his supernatural strength on his beloved mate.

"Explain what? You're a violent person, you're a psychotic, you're a…"

"I'm a vampire." Matthew plainly states.

"What? Don't talk shit, vampires don't exist. You just believe you are a vampire. Yes, your eyes are strange, but it must be due to some special contact lenses," the blond acts rationally.

"What about my teeth?" Matt asks him, opening his mouth wide to make Dom see his sharp, elongated canines, before shifting back to his human visage.

Dom gulps.

"Hollywood tricks," he insists, before Matthew grabs his hand.

"What about the super quickness I used before? And what about _this_?" Matt questions him, bringing Dom's hand to his heart. "Can you feel it, Dom? My heart doesn't beat anymore."

Dom withdraws his hand, traumatized.

"You're delirious. _I_ 'm delirious. This is not happening for real."

"It bloody is! You have been so close to me for all these days and you never noticed it," Matt asserts.

"You can't blame me. You know, people's hearts usually beat, it's something you take for granted!" Dom justifies, still disturbed.

"That's true for living people, but I'm not anymore. I un-live. I'm an un-dead, Dominic," he explains.

It's just too much for the drummer. His fear overpowers his curiosity, so he backs off before running away as fast as he can.

"Nooooo! Dom, wait!" Matt screams, desperate.

He's about to follow him, but then he decides that maybe it's not the wisest idea to chase his terrified best friend when he's starving, so he comes back to his victims, who are still under his spell.

" _If I know Dom as well as I'm sure I know him, I have time for everything,"_ he ponders, allowing his canines to elongate and bending down over the girl he was feeding from.

Once Matt is done, after erasing every trace, on his way back home he takes his mobile out.

****************************************** (In the meantime)

Michael and Rachel are enjoying their evening together, but they're doing nothing supernatural.

They're just sitting on the sofa in their new temporary house, snuggling in front of the TV as they're watching a sentimental movie, just like any normal couple.

That's because they challenged each other to establish what kind of movie to pick up and Rachel won. So Michael had to say goodbye to the very truculent thriller he had chosen.

As it's easy to figure out, that movie is boring the hell out of him, but the only positive thing is that Rachel is holding him tight.

Suddenly, his mobile starts to ring.

"Saved by the bell," Michael giggles, pulling out his mobile.

"What? I thought you were enjoying this movie," Rachel protests.

"That's what I made you think," Michael sneers as the phone keeps ringing.

"Well, honey, don't fear. It's a DVD so I can press 'pause' and you won't miss a single second!" Rachel challenges him, pressing the 'pause' button on purpose.

"You're so cruel," Michael snorts.

"I know," Rachel sneers. "So, who's calling you?" she questions her Sire.

Michael looks at the display and smiles.

"I guess you've just won something else. It happened before two weeks," he informs her, before answering the call, activating the speaker.

"Hello, Childe!" Michael chirps.

"It's happened," a very agitated Matt informs him.

"What happened exactly?" Rachel asks him.

"Dominic. He has just found out the twuth on his own."

"What? Does it mean that you hadn't told him yet? Matt! Wrong. This is very wrong of you," Michael reproaches his Childe.

"I wanted to. I tried, but… it's not so easy," Matt justifies.

"I know, dear. How did he find out?" Rachel wonders.

"He followed me, I didn't notice him. So he saw me feeding, I tried to explain everything to him, but he ran away, terrified," the Englishman sighs.

"You can't blame him, poor puppy!" the vampiress comments.

"I know, it's just my bloody fault. Now I'm going to find him and calm him down. I don't want him to fear me, it breaks my heart," Matt almost cries down the phone.

"Calm down, dear, you're surely not the first vampire who didn't immediately tell the truth to their beloved ones," Rachel comforts him.

"Michael did the same with you, didn't he?" the musician hazards.

"No way, I told her the second time I met her. _I_ don't make such mistakes!" Michael points out, proudly.

"Thank you, Sire, there's no need to twist the knife in the wound!" Matthew snorts.

"Oh, don't mind at him, he's Mr. I-Told-You-So!" Rachel rolls her eyes.

"So, how did you react when Michael revealed to you what he really is? You ran away from him, scared… didn't you?" the guitarist questions her.

"Nope. I've never feared Michael, not even for a second, because I knew I could trust him completely," Rachel says, smiling at her Sire.

"So, it means that…" Matt figures out, his voice broken.

"No, sugar, that's totally different! I mean, I didn't fear because Michael found the perfect way to tell me. If I had found that out on my own, I would react exactly like Dom did," she rushes to clarify.

"Now go to Dom, you're doing the right thing. Be patient, careful, and kind and I'm sure that everything will be fine," she advises the singer sweetly.

"Let's say that now your love is put to a test," Michael states.

"What?" Matthew frowns.

"It's time to see if Dom really loves you, no matter what… or if it's a superficial, fragile, probably fake love, unable to face such a tiny obstacle!" Michael explains.

"Do you really think that this is a _tiny_ obstacle?" Matt wonders in disbelief.

"If you really love someone, believe me, it is," Michael confirms.

"Okay, I guess I'm about to find that out. Just one more thing…" Matt wavers.

"Spit it out," Rachel exhorts him.

"In the worst case, if I need a shoulder to cry on… where can I find you?" the younger vampire asks in a ghostly voice.

"Madrid," Rachel informs him, after Michael nods.

"Gee, you travel a lot!" Matt chuckles, needing to change the topic.

"Yeah. You know, Michael felt a little nostalgic. I guess we'll stay here for a month, at least," She says.

"A month?" Matt repeats, surprised.

"Okay, let's say I felt very nostalgic. I need to see my land, every now and then," Michael admits.

"Good luck, Matthew. Please, don't get me wrong, but I really hope not to see you here in a day or two," Rachel comments.

"Uh! Wait. I got it. Thank you, Rachel," Matthew softens. "Thank you, too, Michael. Bye." He hangs up.

"We were wrong. It wasn't that kind of phone call yet. I guess that Matt is going to take things very slowly," Rachel states.

"He's nothing like me. I mean, I told you the truth the second day and I made you mine forever at the end of the seventh one," Michael recalls.

"Probably he's not as eager as we were," his Queen chuckles. "Now let's watch the rest of the movie," she changes topic, pressing 'play'.

"Why can't I find a stake when I need one?" her Sire grumbles.

"Michael!"

"Just kidding, sweetie."

Matt has reached Dom's house and he's glad when he sees that the lights are turned on.

" _Luckily for me, fear makes you predictable,"_ he smiles to himself, taking an unneeded breath before ringing the bell.

"Matthew, go away!" Dom yells, leaning from the window of the bedroom.

"Baby, we need to talk. Open up," Matt says.

"Don't 'baby' me! We have nothing to talk about. Now you can go away!" the blond snaps.

"You know better than me that I won't go any-bloody-where. Now open the door or I'll have to crash it down. One way or another, I'm going to come in!" Matthew warns him.

"Ah-ah, gotcha. You _think_ that you can, but you can't. I, Dominic James Howard, right here, right now hereby disinvite you from my house. You can't get in anymore!" Dom declares resolutely.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, baby, but it's all crap; vampires don't need invitations. So now open the door," the brunet informs him calmly.

Dom stares deeply at his creepy best friend.

"It's all a bluff, you're lying, but you won't make me a fool," Dom insists, going back inside the room.

Matthew notices an important detail: he left the window open.

He also sees the tree near the house.

" _Well, well, it's time to see if super-agility is included in the package of my powers,"_ he ponders and when, with only a cat-like leap he reaches the branch, he realises that it is.

From the branch, Matt jumps on the windowsill and climbs through the window as Dom is turning his back to him to notice that.

"I knew you would do that!" Matt exclaims, seeing Dom as he packs his stuff quickly.

Dom jolts and gulps.

"Matt! How the hell did you…"

"See? Told you I don't need an invitation," Matthew smirks, but Dom backs off and rushes towards the living room.

"Please, Dom, don't make things harder than they are!" the vampire rolls his eyes, chasing after him.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" the blond complains, using the sofa like a barrier.

" _No way, I guess that one dead person in our relationship is enough. At least, for now,"_ Matt reckons.

"You didn't give me much choice. Now calm down and listen to me, we need to talk," Matt says, standing still in the middle of the living room, afraid that if he dares to move Dom will run away again.

"Okay, let's bloody talk, then. When did it happen? When did you become a vampire?"

"It happened after our last show in L.A..."

"It was that girl! The one who took you away," Dom figures out.

"Do you mean Rachel? Nope. Not exactly, she just took me to her boyfriend, Michael, who did the job," Matt informs him.

Hearing that name, Dom's eyes go wide.

"Oh, c'mon, Dommie, don't look at me that way. It's not such a big change, after all. Okay… just a little bit, if you'll forgive my pun," he chuckles.

"Dammit, Matthew, how the hell can you joke about something so fucking serious?" Dom snaps, throwing one of his drumming magazines at Matt in rage.

Matt turns serious.

"Please, baby, look at me, listen to me, it's still me, the Matthew you fell in love with," he murmurs, taking a step towards him.

Wrong move.

Dom rushes to the kitchen.

"No way! You're a liar, in first place. Why didn't you tell me?" Dom questions him.

"It wasn't so easy. I tried, but every time I did… it didn't seem to be the right moment. Believe me, I wanted to tell you, I decided that I would have told you everything once I was back from my… walk."

"Crap! You're lying again, I can't believe you. How could I ever believe a monster's word?" Dom hisses with his iciest look.

Matt's eyes become teary as he stares at the floor, looking very wounded, without uttering a word.

"You're a vampire now, for God's sake! You kill people, probably you want to kill me, too," Dom goes on, as he catches a glimpse of something on the table.

The blond's cold words hurt the brunet even more, but this time he can't keep silent.

"You're wrong. I may be a vampire, but I'm not a killer. I don't kill people, I just feed on them, because I need to… and I still have my soul, but I can't say the same about you, right now," Matthew hisses.

Dom's rage increases.

"Shut the fuck up! How could I take humanity lessons from someone who isn't even human anymore?" he yells, grabbing the drumsticks on the table and placing them like a cross, before walking over Matt, holding them against him.

"Now tell me, vampire, you fear that, don't you?" the blond sneers, meanly.

Matt just pretends to be scared and backs off, until he reaches the front door.

"From now on I'll just see you as the singer/pianist/guitarist/leader of the band I play in, but nothing more," escapes from Dom's lips, but he jolts, staring at Matt, terrified, scarily aware that he has just said something too exaggerated.

"Forgive me, Matt, I shouldn't have said…" he stutters, with teary eyes.

Matthew stares at him coldly, touching the makeshift cross under Dom's shocked eyes, parting the drumsticks and placing them back on the table.

"See, Dom? Crosses don't hurt me, but you did. A lot," he states.

"I didn't..." Dom tries to justify, but Matt gestures to him to shut up.

"You know what? I thought you were different. I thought you were someone who could see beyond appearance, someone who could go further than prejudices, but I was probably wrong," the vampire shrugs.

Dom remains silent for a while.

"I.. I think that you should go now.." he asserts, laboriously, with a broken voice.

"I just want to let you know that I'm not going to give up on you. Now, you need time and I'm going to give you time. I'll wait until you are ready to face a civil conversation, ready to face the truth, ready to make your decision about us. I'll wait for you outside and I won't move from there, no matter what, until you're ready. If you want to stay locked in here forever, I'll wait forever." Matt informs the other resolutely as he's about to leave, but then he turns to Dom again.

"One last thing. If I really wanted to kill you, don't you think that I would have already done that?" he adds, crossing the threshold, closing the door and disappearing from Dom's view.

Wiping his tears, Dom goes back to his room, spying from the closed window, where he can see Matt sat on the concrete.

" _I'm sure he's going to leave in ten minutes,"_ Dom thinks, as he undoes his bags, deciding that it's useless to escape.

He goes to the window twenty minutes later, but Matt is still there, just like he is after forty minutes or one hour later.

" _What a stubborn guy! No, not guy. Vampire. He's a vampire now. Everything's changed,"_ he repeats to himself, as he keeps staring at the brunet from the window.

After a while, he moves away, lying down on his bed, caressing the side where Matt used to sleep and allowing tons of pleasant memories to overwhelm his mind.

" _Is everything so different, after all? He's still my Matthew with his so good-looking aspects, his behaviour, his memories, his feelings… c'mon, it's surely not easy to tell someone, of course he needed time… but I was too blinded by my childish, stupid, pointless jealousy to realise that he was trying to tell me something…"_ he ponders, and then he changes his mind again.

" _No, wait, it can't be my fault, it's his. He didn't tell me the truth. He didn't trust me enough to share his dark secret with me. He's the one who changed into something that I'm not sure if I can handle. Probably, this new Matt doesn't even care about me for real, it was all a charade,"_ he reflects, but it's enough to close his eyes and recall all of Matt's kisses, his lovely attitude, his sweet words, to figure out that it can't be something fake.

" _But it's a charade now, he's just pretending that he can wait, but he will get tired soon and leave, in order to find someone else easier to persuade, easier to fool,"_ he reckons.

As he twists and turns on the bed, torturing his mind with all of the frustration, Dom falls asleep.

It's the rumble of thunder that wakes him up.

It's the beginning of a storm.

The first thing he does is to rush towards the window, sure that Matt will be gone, but he can't believe his eyes when he sees the brunet still there, soaked to the bone under the cold, pouring rain, waiting resolutely.

Dom glances at the alarm clock. It's 5:18 a.m., which means that Matthew has been sitting outside for more than four hours.

This is all it takes Dom to give himself the ultimate answer to all his questions and doubts.

Matt is so lost in his thoughts, drowning in his own misery, so busy blaming and cursing himself and what he has become that he doesn't even notice that someone is holding a large, black umbrella over his head.

"I'm beginning to think that you vampires have a soft spot for getting soaked!" Dom says, sitting next to him on the concrete and shielding them both under the umbrella.

Matt jolts, recovering a little bit, and slowly turns his head towards Dom, very slowly, almost fearing that he's hallucinating and no-one is there.

Dom seems to realise this and gently skims his best friend's hand, smiling at him.

"See? It seems that it took a much shorter time than forever!" he goes on, waiting for Matt's reaction, because right now he seems utterly numb.

"Dominic," he says, or rather sighs, before smiling and crying at the same time.

"Don't worry, they're happy tears!" he adds, bringing an arm towards the blond, but without knowing exactly what to do.

Dom lets the umbrella fall down in order to hug Matt tight, not caring about the pouring rain that is soaking him as well.

"You're getting wet," Matt murmurs against the drummer's shoulder, a little concerned.

"I don't give a damn!" Dominic laughs, cupping his boyfriend's face and kissing him deeply.

Their kiss goes on for several minutes; it's a kiss that tastes like awareness, forgiveness… acceptance.

Matthew breaks the kiss first, just to take the umbrella and hold it over Dom.

"Baby, don't forget that, now, I'm immune to illness, but you are not. You'll end up catching a cold or something worse, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you," he explains with a sweet smile.

Dom beams and wraps his arms around Matt's neck, squeezing him.

"Honey, I've never felt better than I do now," he whispers, pressed against Matt's chest.

After what seems an endless amount of time, Dominic raises his gaze again and Matt notices that his stormy eyes are teary.

"What's wrong, Dommie?" he caresses the blond's cheek, worried.

Dom bursts out crying like a child.

"Oh, Matthew, I've been horrible to you, I said terrible things that I didn't mean for real, I…"

Matt stops him up with the sweetest kiss ever.

"Hush, baby, it doesn't matter anymore, now everything is fine," he murmurs soothing words, caressing his crying best friend's back with slow circular movements, kissing his temple as he holds him tight.

"Thank you," Dom murmurs when they part, so barely audible that Matt must resorts to his powers to hear it.

"Let's go back inside," the drummer suggests as he's about to get up, but Matt gestures to him to remain sat.

"There's something that I must do before we do," the brunet informs him.

"What?" Dom asks curiously.

"Look at me," Matt pleads his partner.

Dom obliges, nervous and kind of turned on when he sees Matt's eyes turning into an unnatural, electrical, icy light blue, as dark blue spirals swirl inside his irises.

"This is not the way you should have found out the twuth, so now you'll forget everything and then I'll reveal everything to you again, but in a less shocking way," Matt commands.

"No way, I'm not going to forget anything! What the hell do you think you're doing? Whatever it is… it's so cool!" Dom comments excitedly.

Matt stares at him, confused, as his eyes return to normal.

"It doesn't work with you…" he says, or rather thinks out loud, before recalling Rachel's words.

"'You can hypnotize every human but the one who truly loves you and you truly love, because true love is stronger than any kind of magic,'" he mutters.

A wonderful, beautiful, amazing realisation hits the singer.

"It means that you really love me!" he cheers.

His only answer, Dom slaps Matt's left cheek, kind of angrily.

"Of course, I love you; did you have to become a vampire to figure that out? You bloody idiot! Do you really think that I was pretending?" he snaps.

"I mean, you _still love me,_ even afterfinding out the twuth," Matt explains, massaging his temporarily reddened cheek.

"You're really delirious if you think that I don't love you, anymore. There's not a single chance that I wouldn't love you, even if you were covered with scales, prickles, mud… which, luckily for me, is not your case. The point is that I love you, no matter what," the blond states.

"I thought that you were just beginning to accept it but you weren't ready to love me again, not yet. After all, you said…" Matthew weakly protests.

"You can't really believe at the things I said in the heat of the moment!" Dom justifies.

"You can be extremely cruel when you're in the heat of the moment," Matt whines.

"I know, I'm so sorry," Dom apologises once again, holding Matt's hands in his.

"Anyway, you wanted to hypnotise me, didn't you?" the blond figures out.

Matt nods.

"Yeah, it's another of my powers."

"You can't, I don't want anyone to fuck with my mind, especially you. You don't have the right to steal my memories!" Dom protests, lively.

"I can't, it doesn't work with you."

"But you wanted to and I could never have forgiven you for such a thing," Dom insists.

"Well, I just wanted to take this bad memory away," Matthew justifies.

"But I don't want to forget, not even a single, awful, shocking, terrible, painful detail of it, and do you know why? Because this night has brought us even closer," Dom smiles at his mate.

"Matthew, if it's possible, now I love you even more than before," he admits, sealing his lips over the smiling brunet's.

"You're right. In a certain sense this night is very special," Matt sighs against his lover's mouth. "Now we can go inside."

"Yeah, but before I have something to ask you," Dom informs him.

"Anything," Matt tilts his head to one side.

Dom's face lights up with excitement as he makes his request.

"That thingy you did with your eyes before... can you do that again?"

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was pretty angsty and it wasn't so easy to write.
> 
> Hope you liked it. Feel free to tell me anything, I really need to know your opinion (good or bad) more than usual :)
> 
> All I can say is that next chapter will be much fluffier… and a little kinky, too ;P


	12. XI: Please me and show me how it's done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic has a request. Will Matthew fulfil it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sorry for late,  
> Here's the new chapter ^^
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Undisclosed Desires' lyrics, by Muse.
> 
> Warning: language and blood play, but… just a little bit, lol!

Chapter XI: Please me, show me how it's done.

Once Matthew has pleased Dominic, they finally go back inside.

"I guess that now we just need to rest, tomorrow I'll answer every question of yours," Matt says, "But first we must think about you, my poor, dear, soaked Chicken Little!" The vampire chuckles as he walks the blond towards the bathroom.

He puts the plug in, turns the warm water on and waits for it to fill the tub. One by one, he takes off all Dominic's clothes. Once the tube is filled, Dominic bathes in, letting the warm water restore him as Matt pours some of Dom's favourite bath salts inside.

"Are you feeling better?" Matt smiles at him as he passes the sponge over his shoulders, chest and back.

"Yeah, but I could feel even better," Dom purrs.

"How?" Matt frowns, leaning closer.

It's exactly what Dom was waiting for.

"Just like this!" he chuckles, grabbing Matt by the collar of his shirt and dragging him into the tub with him, splashing water everywhere.

" _Now_ I really feel better," Dom beams.

"Lucky for me I've already taken my coat off. Geez, Dom, my clothes!" the brunet complains, but he's smiling, amused, as well.

"I'll buy you a whole new, damn wardrobe, just stay here with me," Dom murmurs, as he takes off all Matt's drenched clothes until he's naked.

"But there's no need, I'm a vampire now, I can't get a cold!"

"But I need you here. It's not that I want to do anything sexual, I don't the strength for that right now," Dom yawns, bringing himself closer to Matt. "I just want to sit like this," he goes on, hugging Matt from behind and resting his head on his shoulder, skimming his chin.

"Can you still feel the warmness, Matt?" Dominic asks him, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling.

"Of course I still do. The warmness, you… I can feel everything," he smiles, but contrary to Dom, he doesn't close his eyes.

"Okay, this is enough. Let's get out, Dommeh," he exhorts him.

"Already? Why? Back in the Hullabaloo era we laid in a tub for three days," Dom protests, half asleep.

"Now it's not Hullabaloo era and the last thing you need is to spend the whole day in a tub, c'mon, baby!" Matt insists and, although unwillingly, Dom gives in and obeys.

Matt hands a towel to him, taking one for himself and once they're dry they head towards their bedroom, wearing their boxers and pyjamas and go under the covers.

Dom leans closer to Matt, giving him a soft peck on his lips as a goodnight kiss and then he rests his head on Matt's chest.

"You won't feel anything," Matthew sighs.

"I know, but I don't mind. Beating heart or not you're still the most comfortable pillow in the world," Dom murmurs, making the vampire smile. "Plus, you know what? It means that my heart will beat for us both, honey," the blond adds, falling asleep.

"Aww, Dominic," Matt softens, caressing his curly, golden locks, before falling asleep as well, happy and serene.

"It's 2:10 p.m., wake up!" Dominic yells, fully awake.

Matt jolts and wakes up abruptly.

"What the fuck…?" he mutters.

"I guess you rested enough, it's time to get up," Dom asserts.

"I wished for a sweeter awakening," the brunet grumbles.

"Forget it; we have a very long conversation to face. I noticed something yesterday, or I'd better say this early morning, in the bathroom, but I was too worn out to think about it, but now… come with me," Dom says, dragging Matt with him.

"To the bathroom?" Matthew asks, puzzled.

"Nope, it's not necessary," Dom explains and Matt smiles when he figures out what the gorgeous blond's goal is.

Dom takes Matt in front of the mirror in their bedroom and looks incredulously at it.

"Wait, I wasn't wrong, then. I... I see you there, how can it be?" Dom asks him, dumbfounded.

His only answer is Matt's chuckles.

"What's so bloody funny?" Dom snaps.

"Nothing, baby, it's just that you remind me of myself when I asked Michael and Rachel the same question," the singer explains.

"The people, or rather, the vampires who did this to you, right?" Dominic recalls.

"Right. They're respectively my Sire and a sort of vampire-sister I guess," Matt states.

"Your what?" Dom wonders, more puzzled than before.

"Dominic, I'd better explain everything to you from the very beginning, step by step, but it's not a conversation I'm going to face wearing pyjamas, so let's go get dressed first," Matt suggests, or rather, orders.

"So let's sum up. The only thing that can kill you is a stake in the heart," Dom states, after their long conversation.

"Hey!" Matt cuts him off.

"What?"

"Well, it's not very nice to recall the only thing that can kill me," he grumbles, insulted.

He still has to finish his sentence, but Dom is already hugging him tight.

"Oh no, no, dear. I was just saying …" he hurries to justify, but Matt seems to understand. "Well, it's better if I recall just the good stuff: mirrors show your reflection, crosses doesn't scare or hurt you unless they're holy ones, you don't like churches and holy stuff, fire doesn't damage you, you don't need any invitations and the only thing that garlic can do to you is to make you get no kisses from me," the blond says.

"Correct," Matt nods, giggling at the last part.

"Anyway, I think there's something wrong with streaming water, are you sure you don't fear it? I mean, you never liked showers, not even when you were human!" Dom bursts out laughing.

"Well, you're the only one who makes me love them, baby," Matt winks at him very sensually, leaning towards his best friend for a sweet kiss.

"I still have a little question, seriously," Dom resumes talking after they part, waiting for Matt to nod. "Since you told me that vampires can't stay in sunlight, how the hell do you manage to do it?"

"Try to guess," Matt singsongs, tilting his head in order to set his pendant off better.

"Sure! The pendant… oh! That's why, when I took it off you…" Dom starts to figure out.

"Yeah, let's say that I was lucky, since it was evening and we were in our beloved, grey, rainy and cloudy London, but if we had been on a sunny Californian beach, right now I would be a pile of dust, scattered in the wind," Matt completes the sentence for him.

"I'm so sorry!" Dom almost cries.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know, but if you did something like that now that you know … it would be very worrying," the vampire grumbles.

"Well, just wish you'd never get me angry!" Dom strikes back.

Matt becomes even paler than usual.

"But, but, but, but…" he stutters, backing off.

"Geez! Becoming a vampire took away not only your heartbeat, but your sense of humour, too. I was joking!" the blond rolls his eyes.

"You were scarily convincing," the brunet defends.

"Okay, question's time is over for now, I have a little request,"

"Dom, please, don't tell me you want to see the trick I do with my eyes again!" Matt snorts, a little bored.

"Nope, honey," Dom replies and Matt sighs with relief. "I need more, I need so much more, I need to see everything," he adds.

Matt gulps.

"Everything what?"

"Everything about your transformation."

"But you've already seen it!"

"That's not totally true. I mean, yeah, I saw it, but I was too scared to really see it… and maybe enjoy it," the drummer suggests.

"Enjoy it?" the singer raises his eyebrow, intrigued.

Dom takes a step closer, caressing the brunet's face.

"Yeah. Now that I know what you become I can face it better, I have nothing to fear. Quite the contrary, I need to examine it, so please show me. Show me now. Don't be afraid. Nothing bad is going to happen," he exhorts his listener.

Reassured by his words, Matt changes his features, trustfully, as Dom is still caressing his face. They both keep silent for a while. Dom lets his hand slide up and down Matt's face, caressing his eyelids and kissing his now supernatural blue, flashing eyes.

"See, honey? I have no fear," Dom smiles and Matt returns the smile, despite his now elongated, sharp canines.

"Okay, love, bring up next step," Dom incites the pianist.

"Step?" the vampire frowns, questioning his mate with his electrical blue orbs.

"Yeah, I mean that you can show me your full transformation,"

"This _is_ my full transformation!" the brunet points out.

"What? Do you mean that there are no wrinkles on your face, no bloodshot eyes, no black wings and tail, no claws?" the blond asks for confirmation.

"Baby, I think you've seen too many movies," Matthew chuckles. "This is all I can show you."

"Well, I like it a lot." Dom beams and Matt smirks, ready to shift back to his human form.

"No, wait, don't! Not yet at least," Dom almost orders, raising his hand.

Matt obeys and looks at his lover questioningly.

Dominic smiles and cups the vampire's face.

"There's something I want to try," he murmurs, answering Matt's silent question as his thumb traces the contour of the vampire's slightly parted lips that reveal his razor-sharp fangs.

The percussionist presses his lips against the front man's without any hesitance and, after a few seconds of awkwardness from them both, they regain the more than natural mutual confidence and Dominic parts his lips, asking Matt's tongue to dance with his.

The kiss deepens and their moans fill the room until Dom traces one of Matt's fangs with the tip of his tongue and ends up cutting it.

A tiny drop of crimson blood immediately slides onto Matthew's tongue and then down his throat.  
The brunet stares at his lover, enraptured, tasting the flavour as if it was the most delicious thing in the whole universe, but then something happens.

Matt breaks the kiss hastily.

"Honey, don't worry, nothing bad happened, you didn't hurt me, everything is okay," Dom tries to assure him, but then he notices the way his partner is looking at him, a way that doesn't look good.

As a matter of fact, the front man seems to have fallen into a sort of trance, with his unnatural icy eyes focussed on the blond's inviting neck and his canines bared.

"M- Matthew?" the drummer tentatively calls him, as he starts to back off.

"Your blood. Fuck! I want more. I must have more," the vampire growls, approaching the human until he's trapped between the wall and the brunet's chest.

"Ple... please, Matt, d-don't," Dom pleads, frightened, but with another feral growl Matthew traps his mouth with his hand, wrapping the other one around his neck to bring him closer, but as soon as the tip of his tongue makes contact with the human's tanned, scented and salty skin, something changes.

His soul overpowers his demon.

"No… NO... NOOO!" Matt screams, parting from Dom and changing back to his human features before rushing outside under Dom's terrified and confused expression.

Three hours later, Dominic is still busy wondering what the hell happened, more anxious than ever before, he sees Matt coming back.

His first reaction is to rush inside their bedroom and lock himself in, but Matt stops him in time.

"Don't, now I'm okay again, I won't act wild anymore," he assures the blond, "But don't you ever dare to do such a thing to me again!" he snaps.

"Me? It's you who scared the shit out of me!" the drummer snaps back, raising his voice as he begins to lose his customary patience.

"Your blood," the singer asserts.

"My blood what?" his listener frowns.

"It's addictive. Just a single, minuscule drop of it and look what happened. I had to find at least five people to calm my hunger down and I shouldn't even have been hungry, I never am in the afternoon!" the other explains, talking very fast, but not so fast that Dominic can't understand him.

"My blood made you do that, really?"

"Yeah, and it's a fucking miracle that I managed to stop myself in time, because yours is nothing like the others' blood. It's special and if I tasted it again I know I wouldn't be able to stop anymore," the pianist warns him.

The drummer gulps.

"Wha… what happens if you don't stop?" he finds the courage to ask.

"I leave you bloodless and you die," Matt begins to reply in a solemn tone. "Or… I make you like me… at least I… I think… I think it works like that."

"Oh. Crap!" is all Dominic manages to say.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I … I didn't mean to, I was just talking in general, there's no… no…" Matt begins to say, worried.

"I know, sure. It's just that I... I thought that you wanted… a Queen, you said, right? Like Rachel to Michael, so I thought, that maybe … Gaia…" Dom stutters, forcing himself to pronounce the name he's almost allergic to.

Matt bursts out laughing.

"Gaia? Oh, please! No way. I mean, she has been very important to me and everything, but I would never want her to analyze me for all the bloody eternity! I'll let her live her life," Matt answer, making Dom laugh, too, but then Matt approaches his mate, caressing his cheek with the back of his hand. "But I would like, oh so much, to have a pretty," he murmurs, letting his hand slide down Dom's chin, "Gorgeous," he goes on, caressing his neck, "Irresistible," he starts to undo the first buttons of his boyfriend's shirt as Dom is too bewitched by Matt's gaze, words and sensual moves to do anything, "Beloved," Matt says, placing his mouth on Dom's for a very soft kiss, "Prince of darkness," the vampire whispers in his ear, making the drummer shiver.

Dominic is speechless and awkward and Matthew can feel his heart bumping fast in his chest, without even resorting to his powers.

"No, no, Dom, calm down, once again, I was just talking, okay? I'm not planning to do anything," the singer rushes to clarify.

"Yeah, okay, I understand. It's just that it was such a weird speech… you know," Dom justifies, more relaxed.

_"Not now, but one day will you agree?"_ Matt silently wonders as his lover stares at him with a thoughtful attitude.

_"Is he thinking what I'm thinking?"_ he ponders, before talking to him.

"Hey, baby, what's up?"

"Show me," Dom says.

"What? My vampire face? Again?" Matt scratches his head, puzzled.

"Nope. Show me what you do every night, when I leave you on your own. Show me how you feed. Show me … what did you call it before? Hunt, right? Show me how you hunt."

"What? Why? I don't know if I want you to see such a show," Matt protests.

Now he's the awkward one.

"I need to. If I want to know your new world better I must know everything about it. I promise I won't get frightened, or squeamish. Oh, c'mon, pretty please," Dom tries to persuade his best friend, showing him his dangerous pout with big puppy eyes.

Matt snickers.

"Are you really begging me to do that?"

"Yes, I am, and I can be even more convincing," Dominic purrs, ruffling Matthew's hair and blowing softly into his ear, driving him crazy with his hot breath, and then he proceeds to torture the singer's ear with his tongue and teeth.

"Okay, Dommie, okay, you won, I'll show you," Matt declares, arching his back with a moan and Dom stops his 'torture', rewarding his boyfriend with a long, brutal, passionate kiss.

"However, you'll have to wait until tomorrow," Matt informs the percussionist when they part.

"Why?" Dom pouts again.

"Just because I've just fed on five people so I guess that I'm more than done for today," the vampire explains and the blond nods, deciding that it's an acceptable reason.

The rest of the day goes on quite normally for the couple, but after midnight, throwing away a book he was reading with huge interest, sat on the bed, Matthew gets up and rushes towards the living room, where Dom lazily lies on the sofa, watching TV absently.

"Dom, Dom, do you remember when I said that I was done for today because I've already fed?" the brunet asks him.

"Yeah, so what?" Dom lazily asks back.

"Forget it, it was crap, let's go out, I'm starving!" the vampire says to him.

His only answer, Dom rejoices, switching the TV off and throwing away the remote.

"Yay! Let's go, honey, I can't wait to see my hungry boy in action!" he beams as they pull on their coats.

"So who is your first victim? Have you already found her or him?" Dom asks Matt out loud, overexcited, as they walk.

"Well, Dom, I'd be very grateful to you if you didn't keep shouting words like 'vampire', 'victim' or 'bloodlust' so often, because we're getting ugly looks from people," Matthew makes him patiently notice, before finding what he's looking for. "Do you see that group of four people, two guys, two girls at the end of the road? One of the boys is wearing a Muse T-shirt, so he's a fan," he informs his listener.

"What? I can barely see that there's someone at the end of the road, how the fucking hell do you manage to do that? Oh, wait, yeah, your supernatural view, I tend to forget it sometimes," the blond realises.

"Yep. Now just shut up and let me do my job," Matt instructs him as they approach the guys.

"Jesus Christ! That guy looks like Matt Bellamy so damn much!" the boy with the Muse t-shirt exclaims, pointing at the two men coming towards them.

"Hey, buddy, it's not that, just because you wear his band's T-shirt, you must see him everywhere!" the second boy chuckles without even looking in that direction.

"Yeah, sure, Matt Bellamy here. If I didn't know you better, I'd swear that you love that man more than me!" his girlfriend makes fun of him as the other girl looks at the two strangers more carefully.

"Holy crap! It's Matt Bellamy for real, and there's Dom Howard, too. Oh, fuck!" she screams, making her friend scream, too.

Hearing the two girls, Matt smiles at Dom and winks at him.

"Good evening, people!" Matt cheers their crowd very friendly as Dom raises his hand and smiles.

The girls keep screaming madly, and the two guys are enthusiastic as well, even if in a calmer way.

"I see you're kind of happy to see us. Well, let's go in that alley, it's quieter, you know… I don't want to get too many people's attention," Matthew says calmly and the group nod, following him into the isolated alley. Dom does the same.

"Is it now?" the blond whispers to his mate, bouncing.

"Not yet, but we're pretty close to that moment," the singer whispers back, as the four friends draw out their mobile phones to take some pictures.

Matt and Dom smile at them and invite them to take pictures together, signing some autographs, too.

"That's fine. Now that we've given you what you wanted," Matt starts, as something changes in his eyes, making the four people fall into his trap.

"Mm… I love it when you do that," Dominic moans in delight, losing himself in Matt's dark blue, swirling spirals.

"I know," the vampire smirks, turning briefly to him before turning his attention back to his victims.

"Now it's time for you to return the favour to me. C'mon, behave, tilt your necks," he exhorts them and they obey.

Before feeding, Matt turns again to Dom who is looking at him with a mixture of curiosity, impatience, restlessness and awe.

Matthew feels oddly proud of that, almost like a kid who's happy because his father came to see his football match.

Finally, the front man opens his mouth wide, allowing his canines to descend, and bites down into the first guy's neck, drinking his precious, warm blood.

One by one, he does the same with the other people, saving only the girl who recognised Dom and him first.

He licks the wounds and breaks the spell on them, letting them go as if nothing disquieting happened.

The two Muse members observe the group as they leave, yelling happily and looking at their pictures.

"So, how was that?" Matt asks, still with his vampire features.

"You know, when I saw you feeding I expected to be scared, disturbed, disgusted… instead I was, and still am… turned on like fucking hell!" Dom almost growls.

"Really?" Matt chuckles.

"Yep, I can't wait to go back home and show you properly… but if we don't hurry up I'll end up doing that here!" the drummer warns him, before noticing something.

"You have some blood on you," he murmurs, wiping it from the left corner of Matt's mouth and bringing his finger to the brunet's lips.

Matt parts them and wraps them around Dom's finger, caressing it with his tongue, wrapping it around its length, being extremely careful not to bite it with his fangs, and sucks it deeply, enjoying the taste.

Dom closes his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"So, Dommeh, now you've seen my new world. Do you like it?"

Dom opens his eyes, meeting Matt's now normal, wonderful blue irises, ready to answer his question.

"It's amazing."

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you'll still like it, please let me know anyway.


	13. XII: We conquer nothing but our minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic and Matthew take stock of the situation… but they do something else, too!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooooo!  
> sorry for HUGE late but RL was a bitch, then I lost my password to get here XD ... now everythng is fixed up!  
> thanks for reading and thanks for kudos! ^^
> 
> Warning: hoooooooot stuff! Plus there was someone asking for a prompt about Dom riding Matt wearing only an open shirt and one about Dom using Matt’s braces… well there are hints of that in this chapter! ^^  
> Rating: nc17!!
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from ‘Exo-Politics’ lyrics, by Muse.

   
Chapter XII: We conquer nothing but our minds.  
   
A key turning into the keyhole. A door that is open. Two figures who sneak inside, furtively. A kick that shuts the door closed, violently, leaving the rest of the world outside.  
   
They’re safe inside those four walls, they can be themselves inside those four walls, they can give vent to their overwhelming passion.  
   
Because Dominic has been so good that he managed to resist until he has reached those four walls, but now nothing can stop him from getting what he craves the most.  
   
He clings to Matt, kissing him so eagerly that he almost scares the brunet; almost, since Matt kisses him back with the same feverish ardour.  
   
Without stopping to kiss him, not even for an instant, Dominic makes Matt walk with him, until they stumble on the sofa, falling over it.  
   
“Don’t you even want to reach our bedroom?” Matt giggles.  
   
“Bedroom? Who wants to reach the bedroom? It’s way too far!” Dom strikes back, laying Matt down and crawling onto him.  
   
Before he realises it, Matt finds himself wearing only his boxers, as all the rest of his clothes are  thrown on the floor, scattered: there’s one of his socks on the television, the other one on a shelf and his black braces between a very wild Dom’s teeth.  
   
“I thought that _I_ had the power of super quickness!” the vampire remarks, amused.  
   
“Shut up!” Dom growls, making the braces fall on the floor, ready to jump on the brunet again, but Matt stops him.  
   
“This is not fair-play. You haven’t even taken off your coat yet,” he pouts, disappointed.  
   
Dominic laughs.  
   
“Honey, this is more than fair-play. You can take my clothes off, whatever you want, in any order, and you can leave something on, if you prefer,” he smirks sensually.  
   
Matt takes off his shoes and his black skinnies, switching position and making their pelvis’ rub together, separated only by the soft cotton of their boxers, rubbing himself against Dom.  
   
“Oh, God! Matthew, I can’t hold on… I’m on fire! Take my coat off, at least!” the blond complains.  
   
“No bloody way. You look so imposing with it!” Matt murmurs, capturing his lover’s mouth into the umpteenth kiss, before a crack makes him hiss and arch his back, parting from his mate in order to look at him inquisitively.  
   
Stretching his arm out, Dominic has grabbed Matthew’s braces and now he’s staring, bewildered, at the reddened mark that he has left on Matt’s smooth and skinny back.  
   
“Take this fucking coat off me fucking now!” Dom repeats, authoritarian, getting what he wants.  
For good measure, Matt takes off his jacket too, leaving him with only his shirt on.  
   
“Dominic, you whipped me!” Matt makes him notice, as his bruise is already healing.  
   
“You didn’t leave me much choice,” the blond justifies.  
   
“No, Dom, you didn’t understand. I liked it. A lot. Fuck!” the other informs him, thrilled.  
   
“And I liked hitting you. A lot!” his partner confesses.  
   
“This night is getting more and more interesting, mostly because you strike me as someone who wants to have complete contwol!” Matt states.  
   
Dominic snickers, switching position and straddling the singer.  
   
“I do. And you know the consequences if you try to stop me!” the blond sneers, waving the braces in front of Matt.  
   
The vampire raises an eyebrow, passing the tip of his tongue on his upper lip.  
   
“Love, you’re playing with fire!”  
   
“Burn me, then!” Dom strikes back, whipping the guitarist’s left thigh, making him cry out, half way between pain and pleasure.  
   
\----------------------------------------

  
\-----------  
   
Among whipping, scratches and bites inflicted by the blond and never vice versa, passion becomes unstoppable, tension becomes unbearable, the excitement fills the room and that poor sofa is more and more abused.  
   
Matt is utterly naked and lays down, staring, enraptured, at Dom as he’s riding him, sinking down on him without much poetry, with his golden hair all ruffled, his eyes half-closed, his mouth that he opens just to scream his lover’s name and his body beaded with sweat, trickling down from his forehead until the drops disappear behind the opened white shirt, the only cloth that he’s still wearing, with the two sides that pleasantly caress his mate’s hips.  
   
“Oh, God! If this is the result, I’ll take you to see me hunt every bloody night!” Matt moans, welcoming a particular hard thrust by Dom that brings them both to the highest pleasure.  
   
Worn out, but satisfied, Dom collapses on his lover’s chest and he kisses him noisily on his mouth.  
   
“Let your inhibitions go/ Make every touch electrical/ When you’re feeling beautiful / Will you remember me?” Matthew sings to him, licking Dom’s ear at every sentence, making him tremble with delight.  
   
After all, the lyrics of that song fit the situation perfectly.  
   
“Matthew, I’ll always remember you, any time, in every situation, but mostly I’ll always remember this night!” the percussionist smirks mischievously.  
   
“Now I’d just like you to remember that we have a bed upstairs and I want to take advantage of that,” the vampire confesses with a yawn, as they both pull their clothes on as fast as possible.  
   
“Decision approved at unanimity!” Dom states with a yawn.  
   
“What kind of unanimity is it? We are just two!” Matthew chuckles, despite his tiredness.  
   
“Three, if we count your demon!” Dom remarks.  
   
“You’re not fun!” the brunet grumbles, insulted.  
   
“Your demon wasn’t fun, either, be sure of that!” the blond strikes back, already knowing that he had the last word.  
   
They head towards the bedroom and, without uttering a syllable. they go under the covers.  
   
“Matthew?” the drummer calls him out, with a softer tone, before turning the lights off.  
   
“Yeah?”  
   
“You should sing to me more often after we make love, I like it,” the blond whispers, placid, falling asleep and, with the same serenity, Matt follows his example.  
   
 --------------------------------------------------------  
   
 _-Hey, wait a minute! I buttoned my shirt up before sleeping!_ \- Dominic figures out, still half asleep, feeling the fresh, silky sheets caressing his now bare skin.  
   
 _-And I put my pants too!-_ the blond recalls, feeling the same fresh sensation on his legs, so he decides that it’s time for him to open his eyes.  
   
And when he does, he finds himself face-to-face with the person responsible for his half nudity.  
   
“Good morning, Mr. Howard, you’re such a sound sleeper!” Matthew giggles, throwing on the floor the pants he has just taken off Dom.  
   
“So it’s your fault, Mr. Bellamy!” the drummer realises, sitting up on the bed.  
   
“Who else?” the other sneers. “Yesterday I let you have complete contwol and it was awesome, but now I want to repay you for being so generous towards me,” he adds, hurling, famished, towards Dom’s boxers, but he stops the brunet’s hand.  
   
“Tell me, have you always been so damn horny in the morning?” Dominic asks him.  
   
“Probably, but turning into a vampire increased it!” Matt sticks out his tongue at him, wittingly, before ‘attacking’ him again.  
   
“No!” Dom stops him again.  
   
“No?” Matt repeats, sceptically.  
   
“You heard me. I’m not very tranquil at the thought of letting you do that.”  
   
“Do what?”  
   
“Oh, c’mon, I mean the thing you can’t wait to do to me!”  
   
“But… so far you’ve always let me do that!” Matthew protests, not liking the fact that that speech is taking a turn for the worse.  
   
“Before I didn’t know what it could happen!” Dominic justifies, shielding himself with the covers.  
   
“Oh, c’mon, don’t be ridiculous, you know that I would never do such a thing!” Matt defends, tugging at the covers.  
   
“Just like you wouldn’t ever do what you actually did yesterday afternoon?” Dom gives him trouble with his answer, as the tug-of-wars goes on.  
   
“That is a totally different matter!” Matt snaps, but Dom remains irremovable.  
   
“I didn’t change my mind, so keep far away from my... little friend!” the blond summons his mate.  
   
Matthew decides to change strategy.  
   
He loosens his grip on the covers and lies down next to Dom, hugging him tenderly and stealing a kiss from him.  
   
“Let me see if I understood what my limits are,” he whispers, languid, as he starts to caress Dom’s smooth and tonic chest, descending to his abs.  
   
The only answer Matt gets is Dominic’s delighted moans.  
   
“So I can do that,” he states and the blond nods.  
   
“And this too,” Matt goes on, pinching his mate’s hips, playfully.  
   
“Yeeess...” Dom hisses, pushing himself closer to Matt.  
   
Matt smiles, caressing the elastic band of his boyfriend’s boxers.  
   
Dominic shivers, but it’s not because of fear, and Matt realises that, too.  
   
“I’m not using my mouth, so I can do this, too, can’t I?” he asks the blond rhetorically, making a hand slip inside the garment, making his mate jolt as he starts to lose control.  
   
“And I guess I’m not breaking any of your rules if I do this too, right?” the vampire asks him with a diabolic, fake innocence , inserting the other hand; that doubles the gorgeous drummer’s pleasure as he bites the sheets not to scream.  
   
With wise skill, Matthew lowers his partner’s boxers to his ankles, increasing the rhythm and the intensity of his ministrations.  
   
When the brunet feels that his lover is close to the edge, he stops abruptly.  
   
“But I can’t do any other thing beyond that, am I right?” he states with fake sorrow.  
   
Dom glares at his partner.  
   
“You dirty bastard!” he growls, suffering because of the unbearable hardness between his thighs.  
   
“No, love, I’m just respecting your rules,” Matt explains with an angelic smile.  
   
It’s just a matter of half second. Dom grabs Matt by his hair, almost violently, and pushes him towards his aching cock.  
   
“Damn you, Bells! I don’t give a fuck if you end up perforating it, do your fucking job to the fucking end, you can’t fucking leave me like this!” he yells in frustration, but with Dom’s great relief, Matt brings him to the apex of pleasure without any painful or undesired consequence.  
   
“Did I really want to prevent you from doing this to me?” Dom murmurs, recovering, as Matt puts his mate’s boxers on and bends over him, kissing him to make him taste his own flavour.  
   
“Yep, lucky for you a certain someone made you change your mind!” the shrewd vampire chuckles.  
   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
   
The afternoon is dedicated to phone calls. Both Dominic and Matthew have someone to inform, so they stay in two different parts of the house.  
   
As he sits on his bed, Dom has to wait for nothing more than three rings before a familiar voice answers.  
   
“Hey!”  
   
Dom encourages himself and clinches his fists, preparing himself to say something that he hardly says, especially to his own sister, no matter that she’s not physically in front of him.  
   
“Emma, you were right,” the thirty-two years old guy starts, feeling as if he had been taken back to twenty years before, when he was a little more than a kid and ran towards his sister every time he had made trouble because he hadn’t followed her advice, and docile and patient like anyone else, she smiled at him, calming him down and seeing him right.  
   
“About Matt?” she figures out with a pleased smile that her brother can’t see but can imagine.  
   
“About everything… He really cares about me and me only, but my stupid, childish jealousy made me get hold of the wrong end of the stick.”  
   
 _-And mistake vampires for unfaithful playboys!-_ the blond thinks.  
   
“So my words made you change your mind and find utter trust in Matthew again, didn’t they?” his sister questions him.  
   
“Yeah, what can I say? You have such a good art at public speaking!” Dom replies with nonchalance.  
   
“Liar!” Emma snaps from the other side. “Do you really think you can make me a fool? You stalked him, admit it!” she realises. “You followed him, because you didn’t trust him!”  
   
“Okay, I did it, but it was something necessary,” he defends.  
   
“What about Matt? Does he know?” she asks him.  
   
“Yep, he noticed me, let’s say that I wasn’t exactly quiet,” the drummer grumbles. “However, we made things clear and dissipated every possible misunderstanding,” he explains.  
   
“Even the sheet of paper with the phone number that you found in his pocket?” she wonders.  
   
“Yep, mostly that thing! You know what? It ‘s only the number of his S…” Dom is about to betray himself. “Stage designer. I mean, a stage designer who Matt would like to work with for our next video. Matt has very brilliant ideas about it and he wanted to surprise us all, but I spoiled everything with my stupid jealousy!” the musician lies shamelessly, trying to sound as convincing as possible.  
   
And Emma seems to swallow that story.  
   
“You’ll never change!” she giggles. “So, now are you reassured about Matt’s feelings towards you?”  
   
“I couldn’t be more sure than this,” Dominic sighs happily.  
   
   
   
In the meantime, in the garden of that same house, taking advantage of the unusual sunny day, but mostly taking advantage of that fact that he can stay in sunlight, Matt is dealing with his mobile, as he tries to dial a number but stops just before pressing the last number.  
   
 _\- It’s only four o’clock in the afternoon, I’d better try again later, but if I wait, maybe I won’t have time anymore to face this conversation… and I must do that, no matter what. What am I scared of? In the worst case ever, I’ll find the mobile turned off._ \- the brunet decides, dialling the whole number.  
   
 ******************************** (In the meantime)  
   
“C-a-s-i-l-l-a-s!” Michael spells triumphantly, using the free ‘L’ on the platform and placing all the other seven letters in the correct order, calculating the huge score he gained.  
   
“You can’t always be so lucky!” Rachel complains, bothered.  
   
“Honey, it’s not luck, it’s skill!” the stunning vampire brags, with a pedantic attitude, before the sudden ringing of his mobile interrupts them.  
   
“I’ll take it, you’re just too busy admiring your damn word!” the vampiress states, drawing his mobile out from his pocket.  
   
“Well, you know, a score of 62 in one shot is not stuff that you see every day!” Michael smirks, satisfied, as Rachel picks the call up.  
   
“Tell me everything, Matthew!” she says, without evening looking at the display.  
   
“Good, at least you’re awake,” the less expert vampire sighs relieves.  
   
“Not ‘at least’ me, we’re both awake… for hours! My dear, when will you quit taking all the clichés for true? Vampires, standard vampires I mean, the ones without amulets, don’t wake up just and only after sunset. I mean, okay, there’s still daylight outside, but we can stay here at home, safe and sound,” she explains as she walks away. “Especially if we’re in the middle of a game of Scrabble and Michael does nothing but write almost the whole line-up of Real Madrid and Barcelona football teams. Too bad that in this game first names and mostly surnames are not allowed, but he’s so dominated by competitive spirit that it breaks my heart to inform him of that!” she adds in a whisper, making Matt smile.  
   
“What does it mean that they’re not allowed?” Michael wonders, almost tearful, staring in a melancholic way at all the words that he has laboriously created.  
   
“Damn your super hearing! You weren’t supposed to hear that!” the vampiress comes back to him.  
   
“Well, it’s too late, the game is disallowed!” his mate grumbles, taking his mobile from her hand and activating the speaker.  
   
“So, my dear Child, what’s up? I guess you didn’t call just to hear about my recreational  activities,” he  comments, as, unwillingly, he removes all the letters from the platform, one by one.  
   
“Nope, you’re right. Something happened. So I already told you that Dom found out everything, didn’t I? Well, with some difficulties we made things clear at the end, but…” the musician starts his report.  
   
At the end of his tale, Rachel is stunned.  
   
“How can it be?”  
   
“I don’t know, but it is. So there can’t be any passion bite that you talked about.”  
   
“But… I don’t understand. I mean, before Michael turned me, although there were just a few days that I spent with him as human, they were intense days, plenty of passion bites and… oh, God! I’m feeling hot at the memory!” Rachel fans herself with her hand, as she and Michael exchange an eloquent look.  
   
“Please, you’d better not tell me certain stuff, since I can’t do that! Between Dominic and me there’s no middle measure: or we stop at the appetizer or we go straight to the dessert!”  
   
“Oh, sugar, forgive me, you’re right!”  
   
“I think I’ve figured out why you reacted that way with Dominic,” Michael states, caressing his face.  
   
“Enlighten me!” Matthew exhorts his Sire, as Rachel also waits impatiently for the verdict.  
   
“Your soul craves Dom as much as your demon does, they have a goal in common, that’s why your soul doesn’t stop your demon, because your soul thinks that it’s the right thing to do.”  
   
“What?” Matt wonders in disbelief.  
   
Rachel jumps to her own conclusion.  
   
“So does it mean that your soul didn’t give a damn about my soul?” she snaps, crossing her arms over her chest.  
   
“No, my love, let me explain,” Michael turns to her, with the sweetest look ever. “Damn you, Matthew, see? It’s such a delicate situation and now I’m walking though a minefield, thanks to you!” he barks at the phone.  
   
“I’m sorry, Sire, but… can you explain that better?” his Child insists.  
   
“Yeah, _Sire_ , explain!” the vampiress nervously exhorts her mate.  
   
“The bond between Dom and Matt’s souls is indissoluble, because they’ve know each other since… always, when they both were human, so they have a different bond. I met you when I had been a vampire for more than a century, that’s why they were two separated things. Now also my soul is crazy for your soul, because they had a chance to know each other… can you see the difference?” Michael rushes to clarify.  
   
“Maybe!” Rachel shrugs, being stand-offish, as she blows a lock of hair from her forehead.  
   
“I understood everything perfectly. That’s why I turn from Dr. Jekyll to Mr Hyde every time that I deal with Dom’s blood!” the Englishman ponders out loud. “In a certain sense… is it something beautiful too, right?”  
   
“Of course, it is. It means that Dom is your chosen one and you didn’t have to wander though all the countries for decades as to find him, as I did with Rachel.” Michael smiles at his mate who now returned happy. “You’ve always had him beside you.”  
   
“Anyway, I can’t force him, he must feel ready for that,” the Englishman states.  
   
“Did you already have that speech?” Rachel asks him.  
   
“Well, it’s not that we pwoperly faced that 100%, but I told him something, although he didn’t exactly react as I wished,” the newbie says, saddened.  
   
“He needs some time, it’s normal,” Rachel comforts him. “However, he seems to be rather excited about the other news, doesn’t he?”  
   
“Even too much!” Matt chuckles.  
   
\-------------------------------------------------------------  
   
Days go by and the two lovers spend them as any other pairing, a gay pairing… where one of the two guys follows a diet that is disquietingly rich in…haemoglobin.  
   
Christmas holidays come and each one finds the time to pay a visit to their family, without revealing any of the most succulent news, starting with the one about them being together.  
   
New Year’s eve comes and, after greeting the sunrise of the first day of 2010, sat and cuddled on the Erasmus Bridge; clinging to each other under the covers of a bed in a hotel room in Rotterdam,  among kisses and caresses Matthew and Dominic wishes each other a happy new year… their way.  
   
After all, it wasn’t a problem for them to have a kiss and cuddle on that bridge, because every time that a fan, a curious person or, worse, a paparazzo approached them, Matt thought about it, hypnotising them and making them forget whatever they had seen.  
   
Some of them became Matt’s ‘dinner’ too.  
   
   
\----------------------------------------------  
   
It’s time to start the tour again and they get ready to leave directly from Rotterdam to Korea; Seoul, more precisely, with an advantage of four days.  
   
“So did you decide? Are you going to tell the others, too?” Dom asks Matt as they pack their bags.  
   
“Tell them what? That I’m a vampire or… that we’re together?” Matt asks Dom.  
   
“That you’re a vampire.”  
   
“Nope, not yet, I need time for that; it’s such a big step, I don’t want to make the others worry and I can keep the secret, mostly with your help,” Matt explains.  
   
“Yep, it makes sense,” Dom says. “What about us? Are we going to tell them?”  
   
“Nope. I mean, why? I want to keep our relationship secret for a while, at least. Don’t you like the idea that it’s something only ours?” the brunet murmurs, getting so closer that he can skim the blond’s lips.  
   
Dom immediately backs off, paying more attention to the shirts he’s folding.  
   
“Are you ashamed of me?” he asks Matt, as he draws a pair of bright skinnies from the clothes-hanger.  
   
Immediately after, Matt is holding him tight.  
   
“Are you nuts?” he whispers into the human’s ear.  
   
“You must tell me,” Dom whispers back, turning to look at his face.  
   
The only answer he gets is Matthew’s laughter.  
   
“That’s really fun. You’re Perfection turned into a man, I’m a bloodsucker, a monster and _I_ should be supposed to be ashamed of you?”  
   
“You’re not a monster,” Dom clarifies.  
   
“Let me remind you that _you_ told me that!”  
   
“Let me remind you that it was in the heat of the moment!”  
   
“That night you called me in every way: monster, inhuman, killer, disgusting thing,” the brunet insists.  
   
“Hey, wait a minute. I’ve never said ‘disgusting thing.’ Don’t put words into my mouth!” the blond makes him notice  
   
Matt smirks mischievously.  
   
“Oh, baby, I’d like to put something into your pretty mouth and it’s not _words_!”  
   
Dominic laughs.  
   
“You pig! And don’t even dare to blame your demon. You’re a pervert on your own!” he accuses his partner, pushing him against a wall and clinging to him.  
   
“You don’t seem to dislike that fact!” the singer smirks.  
   
“How could I? I’m a pervert as much as you! By the way,” the drummer murmurs, languid, as he kneels down, setting Matt’s belt free from the loops of his jeans and lowering the zipper. “Are you good only with talking or do you want to turn what you said a minute ago into… practice?”  
   
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
   
Feverish preparations are under way for the Seoul gig and there are so many things to do that, no matter if Matt and Dom have met their friends again, they have no time to spend some proper time together anyway.  
   
However, the big emotion of standing on a stage is always immense and on the night of 7th January, Chris, Dom and Matt feel it at all, playing with passion and conviction, overcoming their crowd with their power, and generally their crowds always repay them with their energy, warmth and excitement.  
The crowd of the Olympic Park that night do exactly that.  
   
At the end of the show, Muse greet people enthusiastically and they head towards the backstage area to change their clothes and relax.  
   
“It was such an amazing show, wasn’t it? Why don’t we go all together, celebrating somewhere? Matt will catch up with us later!” Dom suggests, leaving his dressing room in a very good mood.  
   
“Are you sure? I saw Matt going to his dressing room with three girls!” Chris makes him notice.  
   
“Three girls? All together? Dammit, who does Matt think that he is? The god of sex?” Tom giggles.  
   
 _\- Well, he is!-_ the drummer daydreams, as they leave the building, trying to avoid the fans as much as possible.  
   
“Why do you always have to think so bad;y of him? Maybe he’s just talking with those girls, from idol to fans!” Morgan states as Chris stares intently at Dom.  
   
“You know something, don’t you? Matt always confesses this kind of stuff to you!” the bassist hints.  
   
Dominic smirks shrewdly. God only knows how much he likes being the only one who knows a secret, especially if it’s a secret about Matthew.  
   
“Well, I can assure you that whenever Matt brings anyone to his dressing room, he doesn’t confine himself just to talking with them, but trust me… it’s only a matter of hit and run!” he chuckles.  
   
 _\- Or rather **bite** and run!_ \- he corrects himself, as the others stare at him, puzzled.  
   
“Hey, Dom, it seems that now things between Matt and you are okay again. Did he stay at your house for the holidays?” Chris asks him as they get in a taxi.  
   
“Yep. Do you remember when he had left for God only knows where? Well, after a couple of days he knocked at my door, apologising for his impulsive and reckless attitude. We made things clear, we’ve talked about everything and now things between us have changed for the better!” Dominic reveals, telling nothing but the truth.  
   
“So does it mean that Matt is not depressed anymore, no abrupt changes of mood and stuff like that?” Tom wonders, relieved.  
   
Dom nods, satisfied.  
   
“Guys, believe me, Matt is... reborn!”  
   
\--------------------------------------  
   
About half an hour later, Matthew makes his entrance in the pub where the others are, reaching their friends just when Dom is busy telling lies about his sudden lost of interest towards that hypothetic girl who the others thought he fancied.  
   
“What can I say? I’m not meant for long-term relationship!” he chuckles, as he drinks his Cuba Libre.  
   
“Well, I don’t think so!” the frontman exclaims, sitting next to him.  
   
“Matthew, you managed to catch up with us for real!” Chris comments stunned, after so many times that his friend had stood them up.  
   
“See? I told you so!” the percussionist smiles.  
   
“Hey, do you talk behind my back when I’m not with you?” the singer acts insulted.  
   
“Yeah, buddy, we always do!” Tom chuckles, ordering the umpteenth Tequila.  
   
“Please, Sex on the Beach for me,” Matthew asks the waiter.  
   
“What is it? A drink or… your plans for tonight?” Dominic whispers in his ear.  
   
“Don’t tempt me!” Matthew whispers back.  
   
The others see them whispering and giggling on their own, but they don’t care much, after all Matt and Dom have always behaved like that.  
   
“Well, Matt, what about those girls at the backstage?” Chris asks his friend.  
   
“They gave me what I wanted, so why should I waste any further time with them?” the guitarist shrugs, making his listeners laugh.  
   
“Toast to our womanizer!” Tom raises his glass, inviting the others to do the same.  
   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------  
   
The night goes on pleasantly and Matt chats with everyone, but at around 3:00 a.m. he gets up from the table, stretching out.  
   
“It’s so late!” he states, pretending to yawn.  
   
“You’re right, I’m so tired, too!” Dominic plays his same game.  
   
“No way, guys, you can’t leave already! I mean, we have time for everything, we are supposed to be at Osaka in two days!” Tom protests.  
   
“Yep, the night is still young!” Chris incites them to stay.  
   
“Really, guys, I don’t think I could keep company to you anymore, I’m flaking out. It was such an intense performance, now I’m drained!” Matthew lies blatantly, the result very convincing.  
   
“Yep, I had my big deal with the drums, too, and now all I’m asking for is a comfy bed,” Dom states.  
   
 _-With Matthew inside!-_ he adds mentally.  
   
“However, don’t mind at us, we don’t want to be a pain in the ass, you can stay if you want, we can go back to the hotel on our own,” Matt insists.  
   
After saying goodbye to everyone, Matt leaves the club, and then, Dominic follows him.  
   
   
“I don’t know, I’m not so sure about those two, I think they’re hiding something from us… there’s  such a complicity between them!” Tom mumbles, once they’re gone.  
   
Chris bursts out laughing.  
   
“When the hell isn’t there complicity between them?” he points out, making Tom laugh and abandon his conjectures.  
   
\-------------------------------------------------------------  
   
Once they leave the taxi, after Matthew managed to resist the temptation of hypnotising the driver to have fun with Dominic, the two lovers rush towards the brunet’s room, loving each other with a passion increased by the after-show adrenaline and the risk of being discovered by their friends.  
   
“You know that we can’t go on forever pretending we’re worn out, don’t you?” Dominic chuckles, kissing the tip of Matt’s nose.  
   
“We must invent something else, also because this way we look like two retired men!” Matthew giggles, pinching Dom’s hip affectionately.  
   
Out of the blue, Dom becomes deadly serious, locking his eyes with his lover’s eyes.  
   
“Do you know what I miss so much that it hurts? Your mouth on my neck,” he admits, grasping his shoulders.  
   
Matt is so surprised by that revelation that his eyes flash electrical blue for a few seconds.  
   
“Dom, it happened only once!”  
   
“It’s enough to make me miss it so badly. I need it, please, honey, do it now!” the blond begs him.  
   
“I can’t,” the brunet barely answers. “I mean, it’s not that we can’t at all… it’s just that there will be unavoidable consequences. Unless … do you already want to face those consequences?” he asks the other with his cerulean eyes filled with hope.  
   
Dom lowers his gaze, parting from Matt.  
   
“Not yet. It’s too soon. We’ve already talked about it, do you remember?” he murmurs.  
   
“Of course I do, so… see? I just can’t, you know.”  
   
Dom comes closer to Matt, sitting on him again.  
   
“Listen, Matthew, I’m not asking for a vampire bite, I’m just asking for a hickey. A beautiful, human, undamaging, bloody good hickey,” the blond explains, caressing his chest.  
   
“I’d like it so, so much, but what if…” Matt wavers, looking away, but Dom prevents him from doing that, raising his chin with a finger.  
   
“Honey, the first and only time you did it, you wanted to bite me, didn’t you? That’s why you ran away,” Dominic figures out and Matthew nods, shamefully.  
   
“See? It didn’t happen that time and it won’t happen this time, either. I trust in you. You’re stronger than your instinct,” Dominic states, serious and impassable.  
   
Matthew shows him a half smile.  
   
“Since when have you become so brave, wise… and extremely reckless?” he whispers, passing a hand through his golden hair.  
   
Dominic searches for his other hand, entwining fingers.  
   
“Since I fell in love with a vampire. My beautiful vampire,” he smiles.  
   
Matthew couldn’t ask for a better answer and, abandoning all his paranoia, he begins to kiss his mate’s neck, licking, wrapping his lips around a patch of skin and sucking hard.  
   
Dom enjoys the moment like Matt does.  
   
“Harder!” Dom incites him, throwing his head aside to allow Matt to have total access.  
   
Trying to control his impulse, Matt obeys, increasing both his pleasure and Dominic’s.  
   
“Yes, like this. Use your teeth too… I mean, your blunt teeth!” Dom rushes to clarify, as he’s slave of the delight.  
   
“You can’t even begin to imagine how much I want it, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Matthew protests against his neck.  
   
“I trust in you, my love, I know you won’t do anything that I don’t want. C’mon!” Dom forces him, happy when he feels Matt bite into his neck with his blunt teeth, as softly as he can.  
   
When Matthew starts to realise that that closeness is becoming dangerous, unwillingly, he parts from Dom’s neck, as Dom admires, satisfied, the mark that Matt left on him, a mark that seems to want to last for days.  
   
Matt also observes it, with ill-concealed pride.  
   
“Maybe I preferred you more when you were scared, at least you didn’t put such a strain on me like you did now!” the brunet rolls his eyes, exasperated, rolling on the other side of the bed.  
   
“Forgive me,” Dom caresses his face, getting up to get dressed; it’s something they both don’t like, but they can’t make their friends suspicious, sharing the same room.  
   
“So far we must be content with it, but one day…” the blond finishes buttoning his shirt, leaving that sentence incomplete.  
   
Matt raises his gaze towards him, a little hesitant.  
   
“One day?” he repeats.  
   
Dominic smiles and gives him a noisy smack.  
   
“You know,” he winks at him, before going back to his own room.  
   
Matt lies down on the bed, staring at the ceiling with an idiotic smile plastered on his face, as he repeats in his mind his partner’s last words.  
   
If only it could, the brunets’ heart would beat fast into his chest with happiness.  
   
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little note:
> 
> When I saw this http://i56.tinypic.com/2wm3x34.jpg I realised that they just HAD to spend new year’s eve there… so much that I’m even thinking about writing a one shot-missing moment about that… hope you won’t mind…
> 
> Well hope you’ll like, feel free to tell me everything, just show me you’re still sticking around, even a word is more than enough! ^^


	14. XIII: You want everything to change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic and Matthew’s relationship goes on, among lies and nervous strain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: fluff and a tiny bit of temporary angst. Plus attempts of Dominic singing, LOL, I guess this is the kind of things you should put a warning for!
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from ‘Do we really need this?’ lyrics, by Muse.

Lying down on his bed in his room, Dominic is staring at the ceiling as well, with thoughts running through his head.  
   
Too bad that they are not serene as Matthew’s are.  
   
 _-One day. One day what? Why the hell is he so eager to… what’s the proper word… vampirize me… no, it’s not this one… to make me like him, whatever! Why all this rush?-_ he wonders, biting his nails.  
   
 _\- Okay. My boyfriend is a vampire and sometimes he scares the shit out of me. It doesn’t matter I can live with that. I definitely like watching my boyfriend as he drinks other people’s blood and it scarily turns me on. Alright, I can live with that, too. Besides, I also like seeing my boyfriend with his vampire stuff, why shouldn’t I? He’s so fucking sexy and… fuck, I have a real kink for his hypnotising eyes. But it’s perfectly okay, I can live with that. But I don’t want to un-live. Not yet at least. Things are just perfect the way they are. Why does Matt want them to change?_ \- the blond tortures his mind with all his doubts as he caresses the mark of Matt’s hickey.  
   
All of the sudden, something takes his mind away.  
   
It’s his mobile, telling him that he has just received a text message.  
   
It’s from Matt and when he opens it, Dom smiles, softened.  
   
‘Already missing you, baby.’  
   
‘Me, too, honey.’ he dials and sends his reply.  
   
 _\- My boyfriend is the sweetest vampire in the universe, there’s another good point for him._ \- he smiles, before the mobile starts to ring again.  
   
When he looks at the display, Dominic smiles again.  
   
“Hey!” the blond whispers.  
   
“Since I’ve found out that you’re not sleeping, either, I thought that we could talk for a little while,” the brunet whispers back.  
   
“It’s so nice of you, honey, but…”  
   
“Say it again.” Matt cuts him off.  
   
“What?”  
   
“What you called me.”  
   
“Honey? But I’ve called you that countless times,” Dom frowns.  
   
“Yep, but over the phone. It’s cool. Don’t you think so, baby?” Matt purrs.  
   
Hearing that, Dom shivers in pleasure.  
   
“Yeah. Definitely cool,” he moans. “Anyway, I don’t think that this phone-call is a good idea.”  
   
“Why? We can’t sleep together, since it would be a little too showy, but we’re supposed to talk on the phone, aren’t we?”  
   
“Nope when you’re next to Tom’s room and I’m next to Chris’ room.” Dom replies.  
   
“So what? Do you think that they could hear us? Hello? I’m the only one with super-hearing here!” Matt chuckles.  
   
“It’s not a matter of super-hearing. These walls seem to be made of paper. We’d better be prudent,” Dominic whispers.  
   
“If you want, not to make them suspicious, I’ll refer to you as Donna!” Matthew suggests wittingly.  
   
Too bad that Dom is not joking at all.  
   
“Great! And I’ll call you Mandy!” he approves.  
   
“Geez, you’re serious. Okay, let’s play your game, Donna. I miss you so much that it hurts. It seems that you were here in my arms just a few minutes ago,” the brunet says, increasing the volume of his tone.  
   
- _Probably because I was in your arms, just a few minutes ago. -_ the blond smiles.  
   
“Oh, Mandy, if only you could be here. Hope to see you again soon. I wish I could see you tomorrow, if that was possible I could be so happy that I could sing, no, wait, I want to sing, right here, right now. ‘ _Oh Mandy/Well, you came and you gave without taking /But I sent you away, oh Mandy /Well, you kissed me and stopped me from shaking/And I need you today, oh Mandy’_ ,” Dom sings, raising his not so harmonious voice.  
   
“ Bloody hell! Stop it, please. If you love me don’t sing. Ever. Besides, I don’t know any song with ‘Donna’ in it, so I can’t return you the favour.”  
   
“Well, just write it,” Dom suggests.  
   
“You wish!” Matt bursts out laughing.  
   
“No way! If you really have to write a new song, I want it to be about me, the real me,” Dom murmurs, kind of shyly.  
   
“Well, you just have to pick one song up in almost three quarters of our discography!” Matt reveals.  
   
“Really?” The blond beams.  
   
“Unintended, Bliss, Endlessly, Sing for Absolution, Hoodoo, Invincible…. ring any bells?” the brunet smiles.  
   
“More than one. My heart is full of Bells,” the drummer states, melting down.  
   
“Look who’s here, Mr Pun!” Matt strikes back, but it’s evident that he’s impressed. “Okay, now let’s talk about important stuff,” he adds.  
   
“I thought we were already talking about important stuff,” the blond retorts.  
   
“You know what I mean. Before I called you, you were thinking about what happened in my room, weren’t you?” the singer asks him.  
   
“Well, it’s hard not to think about it,” the percussionist sighs.  
   
“I want that to happen, Dominic,” the vampire whispers.  
   
“Me, too,” Dom lies, as he hopes to sound convincing.  
   
“And I want that to happen soon. The sooner it happens, the happier I’ll be,” the other adds, moaning in delight.  
   
“Uh! Okay, Mandy, don’t know about you there, honey, but here it’s kind of late and I’d better sleep. Goodnight,” Dom rushes to change topic.  
   
“You’re right. I have to sleep, too. Hope to hear from you soon, Donna, but I have the feeling that it will be so,” Matt giggles. “Goodnight.” He hangs up.  
   
Dom hangs up as well, placing his mobile on the night table and going under the covers.  
   
 _-Soon-_  
   
That word echoes in his head and something tells him that he won’t manage to get any sleep that night.  
   
\----------------------------------------

  
\------------------  
   
Despite all his pessimistic expectations, Dom has managed to fall asleep for at least four hours, before someone wakes him up, knocking at the door, kind of insistently.  
   
The blond gets up and walks towards the door, wondering if the room service is a bit early… and a bit rude, too.  
   
“Good morning, sunshine!” Matthew grins, as he crosses the threshold and kicks the door closed.  
   
Before Dom can utter even a word, Matt wraps his arms around the blond’s neck and seals his lips with his for a long and sweet kiss.  
   
“That’s how I like to start my mornings!” the vampire smirks.  
   
“Well, I guess I could grow used to that,” Dom beams, kissing the tip of Matt’s nose.  
   
“S’ not that I’m not happy to see you, but… why are you here?” Dom wonders as he searches around in his suitcase for something to wear.  
   
“I’m here to take you,” Matt replies solemnly.  
   
Dom goggles his eyes and drops the clothes on the floor.  
   
“What? Now? No, wait… isn’t it a bit too soon?” the drummers alarms, backing off.  
   
“Soon? It’s eleven o’clock and the others are having breakfast down the dining room. We must hurry up, the staff are about to end the service!” Matt warns him.  
   
“Oh… that!” Dom slaps his forehead. “What about you? Didn’t you eat with the others?”  
   
“All I really need is right in front of me,” the brunet murmurs, stealing a short but deep kiss from his lover. “I preferred waiting for you:”  
   
“Aww, that’s so nice of you!” the blond smiles.  
   
“After all, I’m becoming extremely good at waiting for you,” the brunet mutters and Dom notices the double meaning of that sentence.  
   
“C’mon, Superstar, you have ten minutes to reach me in the hall, okay? Don’t dress too elegantly and don’t make me wait any longer or I’ll end up devouring everything, waiters included!” the singer regains his good mood, laughing and joking and he leaves Dom alone.  
   
 _-Okay, let’s dress up, there’s no more time to think now… but thinking this is already a contradiction!_ \- the drummer realises, grabbing a pair of jeans and a sweater.  
   
   
When Matt and Dom reach the others at 11:15 a.m., Tom, Morgan and Chris keep staring at them, suspiciously.  
   
“What?” Dom asks them, a little bothered, as he takes a seat at their table, next to Matt.  
   
“Stop with this charade!” Chris snaps as he pours some orange juice in his glass.  
   
Dom becomes paler and, if possible, Matt does, too.  
   
“What?” the drummer repeats, more agitated.  
   
“We didn’t come back so late from the club, it was around 4:00 a.m.,” Morgan says, staring at the bottom of his coffee as if he could read the future in it.  
                                       
 _-Just when Matt and I were…_ \- Dom figures out, taking a spoonful of yogurt and cereal, but he ends up gulping nothing down, because he spills the yogurt back in his bowl and bites the empty spoon.  
   
Matt is biting nothing but his nails, before coming out with the perfect plan in his mind.  
   
 _\- If they found out something, I’m going to hypnotise them all. It’s simple and plain_.-  
   
“So what?” the vampire manages to ask.  
   
“You weren’t sleeping at all!” Morgan goes on.  
   
“Yep, it was only a scene, pretending that you were tired, just to leave earlier than us and be on your own,” Tom explains, as he’s done with his food but keeps glancing at a pretty waitress with long, smooth, blond hair.  
   
“Yeah, we understood everything. You told us tons of lies!” Chris grumbles.  
   
Matt and Dom stare at each other, panic-stricken.  
   
“You, Dom, are still around that girl and you, Matt, aren’t a womanizer at all; sounds like you’re trapped, too!” Tom states, before winking at the blond waitress with a smirk.  
   
“Tom is right. We heard you talking with them on the phone, and for God’s sake, Dom, you even sang!” Chris says, almost disgusted.  
   
Dominic and Matthew mentally sigh with relief.  
   
“Okay, guilty liars here.” Dom raises his hand and Matt follows his example. “I didn’t tell you for good luck, but truth is that things between Mandy and me are getting serious. After all, Mandy is the kind of person that once gets inside you leaves a deep mark on you.” Dom confesses, tightening more the scarf that he has prudently put around his neck.  
   
Matt smiles hearing that.  
   
“Why do you look so amused? It’s your turn now, buddy!” Tom warns him.  
   
“Yep, we want to know everything about the girl you fancy,” Chris adds.  
   
“Okay, I’ll tell you everything,” the guitarist says as he turns a glass in his hands.  
   
“How long have you been with her?” Tom asks.  
   
“It happened during the holidays, at Dom’s. I met Donna there. We’ve been together for a few weeks, but it feels like I’ve known that person for a life-time!” the brunet reveals.  
   
“But if you said that you have a girlfriend, why do you keep leaving with all those girls?” Morgan questions him.  
   
The pianist rushes to find a justification that’s believable enough, but the percussionist rushes to rescue his lover.  
   
“Because Donna is a very permissive girl and knows certain needs of Matt’s. So she allows him to do what he pleases, because she knows that he loves her only and the others don’t mean anything to him.”  
   
“Oh-oh, we’re already saying the L-word!” Chris chuckles.  
   
“Yes, I’m definitely in love with my Donna,” Matt smirks.  
   
“Well, but since she’s so permissive, I wonder if I can do the same with Mandy…” Dom challenges him.  
   
“No way, you can’t!” Matt almost growls as the others stare at him, stunned.  
   
“I mean, Mandy is such a sweetheart, she doesn’t deserve that!” he justifies.  
   
“Neither does poor, dear, sweet and gorgeous Donna, for the record!” Dom strikes back.  
   
“Excuse me, do you know each other’s girlfriends?” Chris figures out.  
   
“Well, yeah, and our girlfriends know each other, too,” Dom explains.  
   
“Yep, back in London we had a couple of double dates, you know…” Matt adds.  
   
“So where are they from?” Morgan asks them.  
   
“London,” Dom replies.  
   
“Beverly Hills,” Matt replies absently.  
   
“I mean, Mandy is from London,” Dom states.  
   
“And Donna is from Beverly Hills, but she’s there because of her job, now,” Matt points out.  
   
“Well, I want to meet them and I guess that everyone here wants that.” Tom speaks for all the others.  
   
“Well, I’d like to, but… c’mon, we can’t date them here, we’re going to Japan!” Dom makes them notice.  
   
“You’re right, but I want to see those girls who made a miracle. Let’s do things this way, we’ll wait until the tour-break!” Tom insists.  
   
“Well, I guess that if we ask them very gently and politely to meet us in Japan, they won’t be able to say no,” Matt comments.  
   
“Alright, ask them and let us know!” Chris states enthusiastically, already dreaming about triple dates with Kelly.  
   
“Okay, it’s late, I’m done with breakfast and I need to have a proper shower,” Dom says, leaving the table.  
   
“You know, I feel so inspired by this place that I need to write something. I’ll be in my room,” the singer announces, leaving the table as well.  
   
“But… Matt never writes a song without a piano!” Chris remarks, puzzled.  
   
“Well, he can’t have a piano here, so… who cares? The most important thing is that Matt is writing. It means a new coming-soon song from Muse. It means more money!” Tom grins.  
   
“Geez, Tom, you’re such a deep person who doesn’t care about material stuff!” Morgan remarks sarcastically, rolling his eyes.  
   
*********************************  
   
In the meantime, Matt is in Dom’s room as the blond is freaking out.  
   
“See? I told you so, they could hear us, thanks to these fucking walls made of fucking paper, but no way, you didn’t listen to me, you went on anyway! So now we have two non-existent girls to introduce to our friends!” Dom almost screams, as he walks back and forth in the middle of the room.  
   
Matt observes him, comfortably sat on the bed.  
   
“Are you done?” he asks his boyfriend, very quietly.  
   
“Yeah, unless you don’t want me to start insulting you, I could go on for a long while!” the blond snaps, but he’s already calmer.  
   
“Okay, listen to me. I have the perfect plan,” the brunet smirks.  
   
“Really?” Dom asks for confirmation and Matt nods.  
   
“Well, I can’t wait to listen to it, then, as I’m having my shower,” Dom says.  
   
“As we have- together?” Matt hazards.  
   
“No way, Bells! I need my shower alone,” Dom insists. “I was serious before. I mean, c’mon, we’ve spent so many years trying to keep us far from each other, we should still remember how it works,” he adds, taking his clothes off, until he’s wearing only his boxers and goes to the bathroom.  
   
Matthew follows his lover as his naked figure disappears behind the plastic of the walls of the shower.  
   
“As I was saying, I have a plan,” Matt starts.  
   
“Matt? Did you say something? I can’t hear you over the water!” Dom shouts from there.  
   
“You genius! It was your idea to listen to me as you take your fucking shower!” Matt shouts back.  
   
Dom switches the shower off.  
   
“I heard that. You’re right, my fault. You can tell me about it when I’m done,” the blond establishes. “And, for the record, it can’t be a _fucking_ shower if you’re not here with me!” he chuckles as Matt leaves the bathroom.  
   
Once Dom is done with his shower he goes to Matt.  
   
“Okay, tell me everything.”  
   
“No way. You just fucked my brain out. My mind can’t go further that the ‘Naked-wet-yummy-Dommie-in-a-bathrobe’ thought… and if you don’t want me to ravish you, you’d better keep your distance,” the brunet advises him, taking his eyes off him in order to restrain himself.  
   
“Uh! Okay.” Dom nods, going back to the bathroom and half-closing the door in order to prevent Matt from seeing him.  
   
“Talk to me, now,” he orders.  
   
“Okay. This is the current situation: Chris, Tom and Morgan think that we have girlfriends and want to meet them,” Matt starts.  
   
“Thanks a lot for the useless recap!” Dom rolls his eyes as he dries himself off.  
   
“Wait. They want to see them so we’ll make them see them,” Matt affirms.  
   
“Just how?” the drummer frowns as he switches the hairdryer on.  
   
Matthew waits until Dominic is done.  
   
“Don’t you remember that little power of mine that I can use on my victims? I can hypnotise two girls and ask them to do whatever I want, whatever we want. So we’ll tell the others that our girlfriends have come to Japan,” Matt reveals.  
   
“But this way you’ll be forced to keep hypnotising those poor two girls whenever the others want to see them!” Dom points out as he puts his boxers on.  
   
“No, baby, that’s the point. I don’t want them to see the girls on a double date, I want them to see the final break-up!” Matt smirks.  
   
“Oh, that’s brilliant!” Dom approves as he takes his razor.  
   
“Yep, I’ll instruct them, I have the perfect picture in my mind,” Matt assures him.  
   
“Great! Just a little detail. We’ll be in Japan, where there’s plenty of Japanese girl and we need an English girl and an American girl. By the way… Donna from Beverly Hills? Couldn’t you be any more obvious?” Dom teases him, rolling his eyes.  
   
“Well, they bought it, didn’t they? Besides, I liked that series!” Matt shrugs.  
   
“Me, too, but my favourite one was Kelly,” Dom reveals.  
   
“Brenda!” Matt confesses.  
   
“But truth must be told, the one who I used to have hot fantasies about was… Dylan!”  
   
“Dom!” the brunet reproaches him.  
   
“What? Oh, c’mon, that ‘I’m-a-bad-boy’ attitude… you couldn’t resist him,” Dom justifies, biting his lips as he keeps shaving his face.  
   
“You’re right. But I’m a bad boy as well!” the singer protests.  
   
“Of course you are!” the blond goes along with him.  
   
“About your question, think about it, Japan is always full of tourists, like us; we’ll surely find the girls we need,” Matt reassures him.  
   
“Uh, right, I didn’t think about th- OUCH!” Dom yells.  
   
“Dom? Are you okay?” the brunet rushes towards him, but the blond locks the door.  
   
“Why did you do that?” Matt asks him, confused, before realising something else with terror as he sniffs the air. “Fuck! I can smell your blood. Are you hurt? Let me in!” the vampire shouts, ready to smash the door down.  
   
“Stop it! Don’t you dare move and please, be quiet. It’s just a little cut from the razor,” Dom clarifies, as some drops of blood trickle down from the cut on his cheek and fall into the washbasin. “Besides, fuck, Matt, don’t smell my blood… it’s creepy!” he pleads.  
   
“Sorry, I didn’t even realise I was doing that.  It’s just that… do you need some help?” the guitarist questions him.  
   
“Nope, I’m fine, but don’t come in. I don’t want you to see me like that!” Dom protests.  
   
“Half-naked? You know, I’m getting very used to that!” the frontman giggles.  
   
“Bleeding,” Dominic corrects him.  
   
Just hearing that word, Matt shivers and his eyes flash unnaturally blue, but it’s only for a matter of seconds.  
   
“Are you afraid of me?” the vampire wonders, resting his forehead against the closed door.  
   
“Nope; not of you, but of your demon. I don’t want another very close encounter with him,” the drummer explains, resting his forehead against the same spot of the door.  
   
“But it happened only once and only when I tasted your blood,” the brunet points out.  
   
“Well, I don’t want to find out if also seeing my blood can make you dangerous. Please, Matthew, if you love me, go away, go back to the others in the hall. I’m going to meet you once I’m fixed up,” Dominic asks him, but it sounds almost like an order.  
   
Matthew sighs and obliges, without a word, not liking at all that horrible sensation of being feared and not accepted.  
   
Dominic sighs as well, as he hears Matt’s footsteps growing fainter and fainter, until he hears the door being opened and closed again.  
   
As he tends his little but abundantly bleeding cut, Dom stares, upset, at his reflection at the mirror, very disappointed in himself.  
   
 _\- I can’t be afraid of my boyfriend!-_  
   
\----------------------------------------------------  
   
When, about a quarter of an hour later, Dom meets the others, there’s no trace of his little cut anymore.  
   
Everything seems to be okay with the group of friends as they take a walk around the town, but although Dom walks next to Matt, they’re not close anymore.  
   
“So tell us, Bells, did you manage to start to write a new song?” Tom asks him curiously.  
   
“Well, yeah, it’s something about how often stupid fears can spoil even the strongest love,” Matt replies, glaring at Dom who looks away.  
   
“Well, it sounds deep and a little angsty, too. I like it,” Chris approves.  
   
“Well, actually it’s nothing concrete yet, just a few sentences here and there, but I hope to roll that sheet into a ball and throw it away, because it’s not something that I want to sing about,” the frontman admits, and this time his best friend manages to face his look.  
   
“To be honest, I guess that you can throw away that sheet,” the blond asserts.  
   
“Why, Dom? Don’t you like that topic?” Morgan wonders.  
   
“Nope, I want Matt to sing about stupid and childish reactions, sincerest apologies and endless trust,” the drummer answers back.  
   
“Well, I like that topic as well!” Tom shrugs.  
   
Unseen by their friends, Matt smiles sincerely and thankfully at Dom, who smiles back at him.  
   
Now they’re close again.  
   
\-------------------------------------------------------------  
   
That evening, since they have to catch an airplane in the morning, Tom, Chris and Morgan go to sleep soon.  
   
Dominic and Matthew would like to follow their example, but they have unresolved and important questions to face before.  
   
That’s why Dom is not so surprised when, around 11:00 p.m., someone knocks on his door.  
   
“Come in, Matt,” he opens the door without even asking who is.  
   
The brunet steps in the room, gesturing Dom to sit on the bed with him.  
   
“Before we start any kind of speeches, I want you to know that I love you like I’ve never loved anyone else before you, baby,” Matt declares, staring deeply at his boyfriend, blue lost in the grey.  
   
“The feeling is more than mutual, honey. I love you more than anything else,” Dom murmurs, placing a hand on Matt’s thigh.  
   
 “Do you remember when I told you that vampires can go everywhere because they don’t need any invitation? Well, I was wrong,” the brunet starts.  
   
“What do you mean?” the other frowns.  
   
“This morning. What you did. What you didn’t make me do. What you said. How you said that. You made me feel like there was a barrier between us and I couldn’t cross it,” Matthew goes on.  
   
“I know that you are not talking about the locked door,” Dom realises, sighing.  
   
“Yeah, it was so much worse. You… locked your heart to me,” Matt says, his voice cracked with emotion, as he’s on the edge of a breakdown.  
   
Dom’s reaction can be only one.  
   
He hugs Matt tight, so tight that if he still needed to breathe, he would probably suffocate him.  
   
“Never. You must never say such a horrible thing. It was just fear, bloody stupid, fucking fear. Probably nothing scary would have happened if I had let you in, but I was too scared to find that out. However, my heart is always open to you, even when one of my veins is!” the blond manages to cheer his lover up, making him giggle with his witty remark.  
   
“Dominic,” the singer murmurs, showing him the sweetest of his smiles.  
   
“Alright, this is the Matthew I like and love,” the drummer whispers, before kissing Matt.  
   
As they kiss, Matt undoes the knot on Dom’s scarf, setting him free from that constricting piece of fabric and Dom allows him to do that.  
   
“I like seeing it,” the vampire purrs, staring at the still visible hickey on Dom’s neck.  
   
“Me, too, I’ve spent hours staring at it at the mirror,” the blond reveals, kissing him again.  
   
“Dominic, I don’t want anything like what happened this morning to happen again,” Matt protests against his soft lips as he caresses the hickey, touching it delicately with his fingertips, sending shivers down to Dominic’s spine as they both recall the sensations of the previous night.  
   
“Neither do I. So I promise that I’ll avoid cutting myself again,” Dom answers between kisses.  
   
Matthew parts from Dom’s lips, but he keeps caressing his neck with a sort of reverence.  
   
“That’s not what I meant,” he retorts.  
   
“What... what did you mean then?” Dom asks him, fearing that he already knows the answer.  
   
“Dominic, I think that you should become like me!”  
   
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evil cliff-hanger, I know! >; P
> 
> I apologise with Chris, Tom and Morgan for making them such dopes in this story, lol!
> 
> Hope you like this part but whatever you think of it, feel free to tell me ^^


	15. XIV I: I wanted you too much and now I've got to choose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the chapter: Matthew has great plans for the future, but what does Dominic think about that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for kudos!! ^
> 
> Sorry for this huge late. I'm late with everything, because RL is keeping me very busy, but i swear I won't abandon any of my stories, I'm working on them.
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'Nature_1' lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter XIV I: I wanted you too much and now I've got to choose

"M… Ma... Matthew, no, please, I don't think it's time… yet!" Dominic barely manages to disagree, parting from Matt and sitting at the opposite side of the bed.

The blond is relieved because of the fact that Matt hasn't changed the colour of his eyes and he's not showing pointy canines.

Out of the blue Dom feels a finger tapping on his shoulder and he realises that he sank a little more on the mattress, which means that Matt sat besides him.

"If I were you I would do the same," the singer murmurs.

Surprised and bewildered, Dominic turns towards his mate.

"What did you say?" he frowns.

"I said that I would be terrified if I was the human, you were the vampire and you already wanted to bring me into your world! How could you think that I meant now?" he asks him.

"Well, everything that you say makes me think that it must be now," the drummer justifies, putting his head on his lover's shoulder.

"I could never do such a thing to you without warning you before," Matt confesses, kissing his temple as he caresses his nape tenderly. "You know, if I had known that someone was about to turn me into a vampire I would have spent the whole day before listening to the beating of my heart. I miss it," he confesses, grieving a little bit.

Dom stares at him with languid eyes and, without saying a word, he takes off Matt's sweater and unbuttons his shirt as, with the other hand, he unbuttons his own shirt.

"Dommie, no, no, I'm not here for sex… I mean, I'd like to, a lot, but we can't and the others could hear us and..." Matt worries, but Dom shuts him up with a sweet kiss and then he places a finger on his lips.

"I know we can't, but I don't want to do that. Just trust me!" he whispers into his ear as he reaches the last button of Matt's shirt, as he has already his shirt left open.

Once he has completely unbuttoned Matt's shirt, too, Dominic hugs him tight, pressing his chest against Matthew's, heart against heart.

"Can you feel it? It seems that it's your heart that's beating now," he murmurs, caressing Matt's spiky hair in the same tender way.

They stay like that, in deep silence for a few minutes that seem to last for hours.

"Oh, Dominic, whatever have I done that I deserve to have you by my side?" Matt murmurs.

"Being such a poet could top the list of the special things that you did," Dominic melts down, kissing him so violently that he pushes him on the bed, straddling him.

Matt chuckles.

"Baby, you like being on top, don't you?" he smirks mischievously.

"Hell yeah!" Dom smirks back, but before he can even realise it, Matt switches their positions and Dom finds himself on the bottom.

"Fresh news for you, I like that as well," the vampire giggles, kissing him softly but deeply. "Oh, Dommie, no matter how much I love listening to your heartbeat, I can't wait to be the one who makes it stop," the vampire purrs, caressing his cheek with the back of his hand.

"Geez, Matt, this doesn't sound exactly romantic!" Dom rolls his eyes, setting himself free from Matthew's grip.

"Okay, it wasn't the pwoper choice of words, but it's romantic, trust me, it will be fantastic. There's so much I can show you, so much I can teach you," the brunet says, thrilled at the thought.

Dom searches for Matt's hand and squeezes it.

"You know, Mattie, there are times where everything is so perfect and you're so damn sweet that I would almost say 'Yes!' to everything that you want to do to me," Dom confesses and Matt immediately bends over him.

"I said 'almost'!" Dom points put, pushing him away with both of his hands. "But there are times that I realise how important this decision is. It's such a huge jump into the unknown, because although you tell me how it feels, it's different if I feel it on my own. So I'm not saying that I don't want to, it's just that I need time," the blond clarifies.

"And I'm going to give you time," Matthew states, getting up from the bed.

"Thank you," Dom murmurs, calmed down, before a doubt hits him. "You've already fed tonight, haven't you?"

"Yep, don't worry, there's no hungry vampire in this room," Matt smiles. "By the way, on my menu there was even the blondie waitress who Tom fancies so much… and I guess that right now he's having fun with her, despite the fact we have to wake up very early!" he reveals maliciously.

"Matthew, you didn't tell her to… did you?" Dom worries.

"No way, who did you mistake me for? I just asked her about our dear friend and found out that she fancies him as well so I told her to follow her instinct and I guess that her instinct takes her to Tom's door. Now that I'm about to go back to my room, I guess I'll hear them!" the brunet giggles.

"Well, I want a detailed report about it then!" The blond smiles.

"Now I'd better go, we both need some rest," the frontman establishes, but before leaving he walks towards Dom, kissing him deeply and after a while he descends along his neck, leaving a big, noisy kiss on his hickey.

"See? I can control it," he whispers at his ear, smiling, and then he leaves.

Dominic smiles at himself and gets ready to sleep, knowing for sure that it will be a serene night.

At early morning, they are already on the plane directed to Osaka, Japan.

"Well, well, I wouldn't be surprised if we found a storm waiting for us at Osaka," Tom comments.

"What? I saw the forecast, it should be sunny!" Chris protests.

"Yeah, but can't you see? Dom and Matt are sitting _apart_! And when there are such important events there are always devastating consequences!" Tom strikes back, making Chris and Morgan laugh.

As it's easy to figure out, the other two aren't laughing at all.

"Ah-ah. Very funny, Tom!" Dom snorts, rolling his eyes. "Let's say that sometimes I need to prove to the world that I can be apart from Matt!" he adds, giving Tom a playful slap on the shoulder, since he sits between him and Chris.

"C'mon, guys, you can tell us the truth, did you two have a fight?" Chris chuckles.

"Oh my, Chris, Tom contaminated you with his stupid, witty remarks. I would have never expected such a low blow from you!" Matt grumbles, pretending to be hurt.

He sits behind them, next to Morgan.

"It's just that I need some time on my own to think about my song," he finds a believable excuse. "And Morgan is not as chatty as Dom!" he justifies, pretending to glare at his best friend.

"Is it the same song you were working on yesterday?" Tom asks.

_"Nope, this one is about nosey-parker friends who make stupid witty remarks and prevent me from being with my love!"_ is the answer Matthew would like to give, but confines himself to nodding.

Truth is that he can't stay close to Dom because it would be difficult to control himself, since they hadn't made love the day before, and for Dom it is the same.

"However, no wonder our dear Tom is in such a good mood today!" Dom states with a sly smile. "Matthew told me something very interesting!" he adds.

"Yeah, mate, I heard you!" Matt asserts with a knowing smile.

"What did you hear?" Morgan asks curiously.

"Tom with a girl!" Dom replies.

"Damn right. Remember? Walls made of paper," Matt nods.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you everything!" Tom gives in.

" _I have the feeling that I already know,"_ Matt smiles to himself.

"Do you remember the pretty waitress who we saw yesterday during breakfast? Well, it seems that Mr. Kirky still knows how to shoot his bullets. Yesterday, at night, around 11:00 she knocked at my door, said that she liked me a lot and couldn't let me go like that and… I don't tell you the rest because I'm a gentleman, but…" Tom says, before making very explicit gestures.

"Okay, gentleman, we got it!" Morgan rolls his eyes, before deciding to take a nap.

Airplanes always make him sleepy.

"So, guys, what about your girlfriends?" Chris changes topic, turning to Dom.

"Who?" the blond wonders absently.

"Oh, c'mon, Mandy and Donna, did you ask them if they can meet you?" Chris insists.

Dom and Matt exchange a terrified look.

To talk about their fake girlfriends was the last of their thoughts the night before and now they have to find a mutual answer.

Matt's mind is quicker to think of something, so as Chris and Tom stare at Dom impatiently, the drummer glances at Matt who pretends to talk on the phone.

"Yes, we called them yesterday," Dom answers.

"Good. And what did they say?" Tom asks him.

Dom is even more in trouble than before and even looking at Matthew doesn't help, because his boyfriend is spreading his arms out, gesturing something big, but the blond has no idea about what that could mean.

"They… they said that they had a big… big… huge trouble," Dom hazards.

"So they won't meet you, will they?" Chris figures out, upset, as Matt is shaking his head negatively, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Nope, I mean that they _had_ a big trouble, but they solved it, so they'll come," Dom corrects himself, making Chris smile.

"When and where?" Tom wonders.

Once again, Dom glances at Matt and, once again Matt indicates something big with both his hands and legs.

"Well, they said that, that," Dominic trails off, playing for time and waiting for a miracle.

"They said that they can't meet us at Osaka, but they'll be in Japan," Matt answers for him.

"Alright, can't wait to meet them!" Chris smirks.

The flight goes on quickly as the five people chat lively about everything and nothing.

The plane lands at Osaka airport and since Chris, Morgan and Tom take a taxi on their own, Matt and Dom finally have some time to be alone.

"Please, tell me," Dom starts, after giving the directions to the taxi driver. "What did you mean with _this_ before?" he asks Matthew, mirroring his previous gestures and stretching his arms as much as he can.

"How couldn't you get it? It's Tokyo!" Matt replies.

" _This_ is Tokyo?" Dom wonders in disbelief, repeating the gesture.

"Of course, because Tokyo is much bigger than Osaka!" Matt justifies.

"You know, Matt, those nights with friends when you play stupid, funny games, such as miming the title of movies or songs..."

"Do you want to set a night like that? Maybe with Tom, Chris, Morgan and the crew?" Matt cuts him off, thrilled.

"Nope, I meant that I would never ever want you in my team in a game like that!" Dom clarifies.

"You're heartless!" Matt grumbles, staring at the darkened window.

"However, Mattie, since we're finally alone, I guess we should take some advantages," Dom purrs, making Matt turn towards him.

"Such as?" the brunet raises his eyebrow.

Dominic slides closer to his mate, in order to whisper something in his ear.

"Oh, c'mon, why don't you hypnotize the driver so we can have some fun?" the blond says, torturing the tip of his ear with teeth and tongue, as he caresses the back with his fingers.

Matt can't hold any longer.

"Excuse me…" he calls to the driver.

"Yes, Sir?" the Japanese driver turns but meets two dark blue spirals that keep twirling round and round and he can't help staring at them.

"Why don't you gently park the car in an isolated alley and leave us there, as you take a walk for ten… ouch!" Matt complains, feeling Dom's elbow in his ribs.

"Twenty… ouch!" he whimpers because of another blow. "Okay, thirty minutes?" Matt asks, or rather, orders and the driver obliges without uttering a word, parking the car in the requested place and leaving the car.

"Come here, Mr. Magic Eyes!" Dom invites him, lying down on the seats.

Matt growls sensually and crawls upon his partner, shifting back to his normal but still beautiful sapphire eyes.

"Don't!" the drummer pleads. "Keep the spirals on!"

"As you wish, my oh so kinky baby!" Matt giggles and obeys.

Dom kisses him roughly as they both start to unzip their jeans.

When the driver takes them to the hotel, very pleased and perfectly rearranged Dominic and Matthew leave the car, meeting in the hall very worried Tom, Morgan and Chris.

"Where the hell were you? We thought that something bad happened!" Chris starts.

" _Actually something happened, but it wasn't something bad for sure!"_ Dom thinks with a smirk.

"Geez, you guys can't be always so concerned! Nothing bad happened, guess what? We found the only driver who didn't know how to get here," Matt makes up an excuse.

"But… he should have just followed our driver," Tom points out.

"Yeah, but he was sure that he knew a short cut… well, it wasn't exactly fast, what did you say?" Dom adds.

"Only you two can make such absurd stuff happen!" Morgan rolls his eyes.

"Now go to your rooms and get ready, we have so much work to do!" Tom instructs them as only a proper manager can do.

Matt and Dom apologise to their friends for making them worry and then they go to their rooms.

"You know, I'm sick of lies, they don't deserve that!" Dom snorts as they are in the elevator.

"Me, too, but c'mon, deep inside it's fun to fool them like this, they just buy everything we tell them!" Matthew chuckles, contaminating his best friend as well.

At the Osaka-Jō Hall everything goes in the best way, the crowd, made up not only by Japanese people, shows the band all their love and support and Muse play with all the energy and the passion they can muster.

At the end of the concert, after greeting their crowd warmly, everyone goes to the backstage area.

Matt and Dom are the fastest to change clothes, so they have some time to spend alone.

They go outside together, reaching some fans who welcome them with excited screams. As they sign autographs they take a look around.

"Uhmm… those two girls on the left are too young, right?" Matt asks Dom, who looks in the same direction and his eyes meet two teenagers who seems to be German.

"A little too young? Damn, Matt, they will be nothing more than fourteen years old, they could be our daughters! We're not paedophiles!" the drummer snaps as they pose for some photos with the fans.

"Right, but… when you say 'our daughters', what do you mean?" Matt questions his lover.

"Well, you know, my daughter or yours if we had a baby from a girl a lot of years ago, I surely didn't mean our biological daughters!" Dom clarifies a little awkwardly.

"Dom…" Matt singsongs with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, fine, what can I say? A bloke can dream!" the blond reveals.

"Aww, Dommie, you know… if there was no one around right now I would hold you in my arms and kiss you," the frontman whispers in his ear.

"Are you sure that you still want to be a good vampire instead of being an evil, ruthless, cruel vampire who makes massacres and gets rid of curious people? Because right now I would appreciate that!" Dominic whispers back at him, making the vampire laugh.

They greet the fans one last time, waving their hands and smiling, before leaving.

"So did you see your prey for tonight?" Dom asks Matt.

"Yep, three Nipponese guys who seemed very eager to meet me, well they will very soon!" the singer sneers.

"What about the girls we need?" the percussionist asks again.

"Nothing, but there were two women who could be the grandmas of the girls we saw before," Matt chuckles.

"I saw one of those women push a little girl to get closer to us, it's not exactly a grand-mommy thing to do!" Dom giggles, but then he becomes serious.

"Hey, Matt, I was thinking… what if they weren't fans?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, why can't we find two normal people who maybe don't even know who we are? I guess that it would makes thing more believable," Dom explains.

"Okay, it sounds like a challenge and I love challenges. Let's see if our charm can even conquer two girls who ignore who we are!" Matt approves.

"Yep, after all, tomorrow we have a whole day to spend here in Osaka, we'll search around the town and we'll surely find someone!" Dom agrees.

"Sounds good," Matt asserts as he and Dom reach their dressing room.

They are about to go in, but Matthew changes his mind.

"You know what, Dom? I guess I'll pay a visit to those Japanese boys now, I have pangs of hunger… can you cover for me?" the vampire wonders.

"As always!" the human chuckles.

"Thank you, love, I know that I can always rely on you," Matt smiles, and he seems about to add something.

Dom notices that.

"What?"

"Nothing,; not now, at least. I'll come to you tonight so we can talk about it better," the singer whispers mysteriously, leaving.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry!" Matt says when he and Dom meet in the hall the morning after at 9:00 o'clock. "I wanted to come to you, I've even set my alarm clock but I didn't get up, I was too tired!" he justifies.

"You're right to be sorry. I waited for you all night long!" Dom grumbles.

"Really?" the brunet asks him with guilty eyes.

"Nope, I was joking. I felt asleep the second my head touched the pillow!" Dom reveals. "However, aren't vampires supposed to stay up all night long?" he whispers at his lover as they leave the hotel.

"Sure, the standard ones who wake up after sunset, not me. I was up since bloody dawn yesterday!" Matthew protests.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Dominic wonders.

"Well, you know it's something that I would have preferred to tell you in a bed, right after making sweet and wild love," the vampire purrs in Dom's ear, making him shiver. "But there's not time, so… do you like Sydney?" he asks him, as they wait for the taxi.

"Yep, a lot. It's such a cool town, can't wait to play there, but… why?" Dominic asks him. "Uh, wait, I got it, you're planning our next holiday together, aren't you?" he smiles at his mate.

"Sort of. Let's say that I'm planning our _un-lives_ together!" Matt points out.

Dominic shivers again.

"W-what?"

"Oh, c'mon, I didn't ask you if you like Sydney to pay a visit there, but to reborn there. I guess it would be the perfect picture!" Matt reveals.

"But… but we're playing in Sydney on 22nd and 23rd this month!" Dom makes him notice.

"Hell yeah, I know! See? I'm giving you time, baby," the singer smiles at him as their taxi arrives.

" _What the hell is he babbling about? Someone should explain to him what 'to give time' means. Fourteen days are not time, fourteen days are… nothing!"_ Dom worries, but kicks that thought away, focusing on their mission.

(End I)


	16. XIV II: I wanted you too much and now I’ve got to choose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic has to make his choice...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is taken from ‘Nature_1’ lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter XIV II: I wanted you too much and now I’ve got to choose 

 

 

Dom and Matt spend half morning in the Ame-mura alley, full of clothes stores, but they’re so engrossed visiting the shops that they forget to look for some girls.

 

“We have the afternoon for that, now let’s go to Den Den Town!” Dom suggests.

 

“What?” Matt frowns.

 

“Oh, c’mon, doesn’t it remind you of our den? I want to see that!” the blond insists.

 

Dom was wrong, Den Den Town has nothing to do with their den, but it’s full of electric products that drive Matthew crazy, but the blond manages to prevent his boyfriend from making irresponsible purchases.

 

“Geez, Dom, did you see that tool? Japan is so advanced in technology; Europe has to learn from these people!” Matt comments excited, as Dom drags him out of the umpteenth technology shop.

 

“I prefer good, old European stuff. You know, new things scare me!” the drummer states, but Matt doesn’t get the double meaning of that sentence.

 

Suddenly they hear a female scream and another one, before seeing two young girls running towards them, excited

 

“Dooooooooooooooom!” the two girls yell in perfect unison, jumping on the blond.

 

“Hello? I’m here, too,” Matthew grumbles.

 

A little bothered, the girls part from Dominic, to glance at him.

 

“Who are you?” one of them asks him with a marked French accent.

 

“Uh, wait, if I’m not wrong, it should be the singer,” the second girl shrugs.

 

“Oh, right, the one with such annoying voice!” the first girl recalls.

 

Matthew is speechless and Dominic must try his best not to laugh shamelessly.

 

“Yeah, I always turn the voice off and listen only to the instrumental version. Well, at least you’re not so bad with the guitar!” the second one comments, before they both resume hugging Dom, kissing his cheeks.

 

_“Can I kill them? No, Matt, you can’t. After all, they’re only fans, Dom doesn’t even seem to like their attention... because if he did I would kill him! And then I’d kill myself, too. Wait... there are way too many murders in this thought!”_ the singer decides, bewildered.

 

Without wasting any more time, Matt pulls Dom from the two girls.

 

“Excuse me, but we have to go now, we have lots of things to do. You know, me, my annoying voice and my drummer have a concert tomorrow! Farewell, ladies,” Matt states, dragging Dom away.

 

"But Matt, why did you do that? Maybe we could use them for..." Dom protests.  
  
"First, you said no fans this time, but mostly I don't want any of those hateful bimbos to be your fake girlfriend!" Matt growls.  
  
"I like you all grrr and possessive!" Dom chuckles as they walk away.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
They decide to have lunch in one of the trendy locals in Shinsaibashi.  
  
There are two girls around thirty years old who sat at a few tables from theirs.  
  
"Hey, Dom, did you see those girls? I think they're perfect!" Matt informs him.  
  
"I was about to ask you the same. We just have to find out if they speak our language," Dom replies, glancing at the girls.  
  
"They do. They spoke Japanese with the waiter, but they speak English when they talk to each other. I heard them." Matt answers.  
  
"So what's the plan?" the blond asks his mate.  
  
"We're going to play the playboys. Follow me," Matt establishes, getting up from his seat.  
  
The two guys walk towards their goal.  
  
"Hello, ladies!" Matthew starts, with his sexiest smile.  
  
"Do you mind if we keep you company?" Dom asks with an irresistible smirk.  
  
Not so irresistible to the girls, since they reply something in Japanese, gesturing that they don't understand their language.  
  
"Well, Dom, we're just wasting our time with them, let's find someone else, maybe a real blondie, not a bottle one!" Matt turns to Dom, raising his tone so the girls can hear him clearly.  
  
"Hey! I'm not a bottle blond!" the blonde snaps, insulted.  
  
"Gotcha. You speak our language!" Matt smirks victoriously.  
  
"Okay, you won. It was only a little strategy to keep the annoying guys far away from us, but evidently it didn't work!" the other girl, a brunette, snorts.  
  
"Probably only with the stupid, annoying guys, but Matt and I are smart and we're not annoying!" Dom winks at the brunette.  
  
"So are you here for the concert?" the blonde asks them, but she basically turns to Matt.  
  
"Nope, the concert was yesterday," Matt grumbles.  
  
"No way, it's tonight. We've been waiting for that for a long time!" the brunette confesses.  
  
"Excuse me, who are you talking about?" Dom asks her.  
  
“Girugämesh!” the girls replies in unison, with daydreaming eyes.  
  
Matt and Dom exchange a confused look.  
  
"Well, we don't know them... him... or her, whatever! But, you know, we're musicians, too!" Dom explains.  
  
"Cool! C'mon, guys, work hard and never stop chasing your dream!" the blonde incites them.  
  
"Yeah, who knows? Maybe one day you could be the Girugämesh's opening act!” the brunette grins at them.  
  
Matt feels an impulsive desire to kill again, but manages to control himself.  
  
"Well, if you're done with your lunch, would you like to take a walk with us?" Dom suggests.  
  
"No way! We don't even know you!" the blonde protests.  
  
"That's right, it's in order to get to know each other better and chat a little in a less loud place!" Matt insists. "So you can tell us more about the band you like so much!"  
  
The girls beam.  
  
"Why not? After all you seem such nice guys," the brunette admits.  
  
"You can trust us!" Dom smiles sweetly at them.  
  
They leave the local and take a walk. Dom catches a glimpse of an isolated alley and pinch Matt's hip to make him notice, too.  
  
"Well, let's go this way!" Matt leads the girls towards the alley.  
  
"What?! What the hell are you two? Some kind of perverted maniacs?" the blonde snaps.  
  
"Yeah, leave us alone!" the brunette adds, glaring at them.  
  
"No, wait. What did you understand? We're not ill intentioned, it's just that the streets are so crowded and noisy, even more than the locals! We can have more privacy there, to talk. Just and only talk!" Matt assures with such a warm smile that could fool everyone.  
  
"Yeah, trust us!" Dom nods.  
  
When the girls seem to calm down, the guys bring them to the alley.  
  
"You know what? We haven't even introduced ourselves, yet. Well, I heard that you are Matt and Dom, we are..." the blonde starts.  
  
"I don't give a damn about your names, now listen to me!" Matt cuts her off, rudely.

 

“But... what?” the brunette frowns.

 

“I’ll tell you a secret, ladies: never trust us!” Dom chuckles. “C’mon, Matt, do your job!” he invites his mate.

 

Before the girls can utter a word, the vampire traps them in his twirling, blue spirals.

 

“Have fun at your show tonight, stay up as much as you please, but the most important thing is that you reach us in Tokyo in two days, here’s your tickets,” the pianist says as the drummer hands two tickets to the girls who puts them into their bags.

 

“Good girls,” Matt smiles, as he keeps staring deeply at them. “Let’s start with you, blondie. You’ll talk with an American accent. You are Donna, my girlfriend and...”

 

\----------------------------------------------------- 

 

“This way, guys! They're waiting for us!" Dom instructs his friends, as he and Matt show them the way, once they left the airplane.  
  
The show at the Aichi Taiiku-Kan in Nagoya went pretty well, they caught a flight in the morning and now they're in Tokyo, for their last show in Japan.  
  
Very shrewdly and very carefully, Dom and Matt managed to spend some time together even the day before, that's why they manage to sit close to each other during the flight.  
  
"Hey, Matt, are you sure that the girls will be there? Maybe they forgot everything and..." Dom whispers to Matt, kind of concerned, as they walk.  
  
"They can't forget it, it’s not a simple favor that I asked them, it’s hypnosis, it always works… saving with you!” Matt explains in a whisper.

 

“Hell yeah, I’m immune to vampire tricks!” Dom giggles proudly.

 

“Well, only to my vampire tricks, Rachel and Michael could hypnotize you in a heartbeat!” Matt clarifies.

 

Dom gulps.

 

“I don’t like that,” he grumbles.

 

“Neither do I, but don’t worry, I’ll never let them touch you, no matter what!” Matt swears to his lover.

 

 

"Hey, you two, what is all this secret whispering?" Tom says.  
  
"Yeah, less talking, more walking!" Chris exhorts his friends.  
  
They oblige and reach the Arrivals area where Matt and Dom immediately catch a sight of the two girls who wave their hands at them, smiling.  
  
They look more beautiful than the first time, in their swirling mini dresses, but it's not what matters, the most important thing is that Matt's plan is working.  
  
"Here they come!" Dom indicates the girls to the others and they all approach them.

 

The brunette jumps on Dom’s neck and the blonde does the same with Matt.

 

“Well, guys, this is Donna. Donna, meet my friends Chris, Tom, Morgan and… oh, wait, you already know Dom,” Matt chuckles, making a handshaking start.

 

“Hi guys, nice to meet ya!” the girl smiles at them.

 

“And this is Mandy,” Dom introduces his fake girlfriend, wrapping an arm around her waist.

 

“So you’re the famous girls who Dom and Matt talked about so much!” Chris beams.

 

“Oh, really? That’s so sweet of them!” ‘Mandy’ beams, rubbing her face against Dom’s cheek.

 

“So, love, did you have a nice flight?” ‘Donna’ asks Matt.

 

“Very nice, sweetie,” he grins.

 

‘Donna’ immediately changes her mood and her bright smile turns into a bothered glare.

 

“Good, so you’re ready for this!” she snaps, slapping Matt’s cheek in front of everyone.

 

“Ouch! Sweetie, what did I do?” Matt asks her, massaging his cheek.

 

“Don’t play the faithful dude with me, you cheating bastard! I know what you do every time you are on your fucking own! Guess what? The last slut you shagged had an iPhone, she recorded everything and uploaded it to Youtube. She deleted the video, but I saw it on time. You ugly bastard!” she yells, ready to hit Matt again, but he stops her hand.

 

“Oh, c’mon! We talked about that, I thought you were more open-minded!” he shrugs.

 

“Are you hinting that it’s _my_ fault? You dirty liar, you told me that you only flirted with some chicks every once in a while, instead you… Grrr, I’m so pissed off that I don’t even know what to say!” she snaps, parting from him. “I’ll send you back all your stupid stuff, plus the gifts, everything! It’s over, Matthew, I don’t wanna ever see you ever again!” she hisses, leaving.

 

Tom, Morgan and Chris observe the whole scene speechless, as Dom patiently waits for his ‘girlfriend’ to play her role.

 

“I guess it’s over for us, too, Dominic,” she states.

 

“What? Sweetheart, but… I didn’t do anything, it’s Matt the cheater!” Dom grumbles.

 

“I know, but you’re his best friend, you have so much in common that you’ll end up following his bad habits!” she protests.

 

“Mandy, no, I’ll never do it, I want you and you only, please,” Dom pleads.

 

“No, Dom, I can’t trust you. You’ll make me suffer and I don’t want to suffer. It’s better that we break up now, before it’s too late. Farewell, Dominic!” she says, walking away from him and his dumbfounded friends.

 

Well, Matt is just pretending, of course.

 

“Oh my, Dom, I’m so sorry!” the singer murmurs, placing a hand on Dom’s shoulder, but the drummer moves it away, kind of violently.

 

“Don’t touch me!” he hisses.

 

“But I didn’t know, I couldn’t know, oh c’mon, Dommie!” Matt pleads.

 

It’s still a part of Matt’s brilliant plan.

 

“Dom is right, Matt, leave him alone. This is only your fault! You lost your girlfriend and made Dom lose his!” Tom reproaches him, glaring at the guitarist.

 

“They were such lovely girls!” Morgan states.

 

“You’ve met them for a minute!” Matt makes him notice.

 

“It’s enough to figure out that they are lovely,” Morgan justifies.

 

“Well, it looks like there won’t be any double dates anymore,” Matt sighs upset.

 

“Yeah. By the way, guys, you feel like performing tonight… don’t you?” Tom asks them, very worried.

 

“Of course we do. C’mon, we’re professional; we can separate our job from private lives!” Dom replies. “Besides, after all it’s not such a big loss,” he adds.

 

Matt turns to him, amazed and agitated

 

_“Hey! This is not part of the plan!”_ he ponders.

 

"What do you mean?" Chris frowns .  
  
"You know, guys, I'm not made for staying with girls," Dom confesses, but then he notices how Chris, Tom and Morgan are staring at him, almost shocked. "For a long time," the drummer rushes to add, as the others calm down and Matt sighs with relief.  
  
"You know what, guys? We'll think about everything, from the hotel to the setting for the concert. You have a free afternoon. Leave your stuff here and go take a walk, you just have to cheer you up!" Tom advises them... or rather he orders.  
  
"Thank you, Tom. It's not so easy, but we'll try," Matt justifies, trying to look as upset as Dom does.

 

  
  
"It worked, didn't it?" Dom says as they walk away.  
  
"Of course it did, it was one of _my_ plans!" Matt smirks. "By the way, what was that speech before, were you trying to say what I think you were trying to say?" he questions his lover.  
  
"Yeah, at least I've tried, but judging by the way they were looking at me I realised that it wasn't the proper time, they're not ready for that yet!" Dom states. "But I'm so sick of lies, Matt. I want them to know the truth," he adds.  
  
"Believe me, I want it, too, but we'll face everything once we are in the same situation!" Matt says.  
  
"Well, but we are in the same situation, we're both gay, well… not gay, bisexual, anyway... liking each other... loving each other?" Dom makes him notice.  
  
Matthew shakes his head negatively, smiling.  
  
"Yeah, but I mean when we'll be in the exactly identical situation. When we both will be vampires!" he reveals.  
  
Inevitably, Dom shivers.  
  
"Do... do you really want to wait until then?"  
  
"Sure. It's better to say the whole shocking truth all at once, instead of some shocking particular here and there," he justifies. "So, don't worry, we just have to wait until the end of the month!" he adds.  
  
 _“Hey, wait! When did I exactly tell him yes?”_ Dom wonders, but confines himself just to smiling at his partner.  
  
"Hey, Matt, the girls were great, they played their role perfectly, but... are you sure that they'll forget everything?" he asks him, also to change subject.  
  
"Damn sure. They won't remember anything after meeting us in that local. The spell broke the moment they walked away from us," Matt explains.  
  
"Good," Dom mumbles.  
  
************************************************  
  
"Oh my God, Bridget, what the hell are we doing in Tokyo?" the brunette stares at her friend in confusion.  
  
"I don't know, Heather, but Girugämesh have an odd effect on us if we caught the wrong plane without even realising that!" the blonde comments. "C'mon, let's find a way to come back home!"  
  
  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Contrary to Tom's pessimistic expectations, the show in Budokan goes very well, but Dom and Matt don't feel like celebrating very much after that.

 

“Maybe we should stay with you, guys,” Tom muses.

 

“No way!” Dom snaps, but everyone, save for Matt, casts a questioning look at him.

 

“I mean, I don’t want to spoil your fun. C’mon, guys, you’re full of adrenaline and you must give vent to it, no matter what!” he justifies.

 

“Yeah, don’t mind at us, we’ll be fine!” Matt adds.

 

_“More than fine!”_ he smiles at that oh so tempting thought.

 

“I don’t know, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave you alone after what happened today,” Chris protests.

 

“Okay, we’re not exactly Mr. Happiness right now, but we can guarantee that we won’t commit suicide, if it’s that what you fear!” Matt assures.

 

“Yeah, actually there’s Matt who wants to kill me, but it will happen by the end of this month!” Dom replies absently.

 

Matthew glares at him, but Tom bursts out laughing.

 

“You’re saying your usual nonsense craps again, it means that you already feel better!” the manager states.

 

“Yep, he’s always the same dickhead we know all and love. I feel much better, too, it’s just way too soon for us to celebrate. We’d prefer going back to the hotel,” the singer explains.

 

“After all, think about this afternoon, you let us alone and nothing bad happened, you can do it again!” the drummer insists.

 

“Okay, guys, we’ll try not to be too late. See you tomorrow!” Chris greets them and goes away with Morgan and Tom.

 

Matthew and Dominic rush to the first available taxi.

 

Once they’re in the hall, Dom is distracted for a second and loses sight of Matt.

 

A little confused, the drummer goes to the elevator and when he reaches the floor he finds Matthew waiting for him, in front of Dom’s room.

 

“Damn you, Bells, don’t use the super quickness with me! You know that it makes me nervous!” the blond reproaches his partner who just shrugs.

 

Dom opens the door and as he’s about to close it, Matt is already under the covers of the bed, wearing only his boxers.

 

“Bloody hell, Matt, quit it! It’s not fun,” Dominic grumbles.

 

Half second later the blond finds himself with his back on the mattress, as Matt is pinning him down, taking off Dom’s coat.

 

“Are you sure that it’s not fun?” the vampire purrs in the drummer’s ear, as he gets rid also of his sweater and shirt.

 

“Okay, it is, but… just a little bit!” Dom chuckles.

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll learn how to do that soon,” Matt informs his mate, taking off Dom’s shoes and skinny pants. “I’ll teach you everything, baby!” he whispers, kissing the blond good and proper.

 

_“Soon,”_ Dom repeats in his mind, alarmed, but Matt’s ministrations definitely take his mind off.

 

Things between the two lovers get hotter and hotter as they roll together on the bed, naked, struggling for dominance and it’s Matt who’s the final winner.

 

“Do you love me?” the brunet asks as he enters Dominic.

 

“Yes!” Dom shouts, as he moves his own hips to make his lover understand that he must do that harder and faster.

 

“Would you do anything for me?” Matt asks his boyfriend as he pushes harder.

 

“Oh, God, yes! Anything!” Dominic moans, arching his back.

 

“Would you follow me anywhere, my love?” Matt whispers, with one last hard push that sends Dom over the edge.

 

“Oh, fucking YES, Matthew, YEEEESSS!” Dom screams satisfied, reaching his own orgasm. 

 

A few seconds later, Matthew follows his mate into the oblivion, collapsing on the blond’s chest.

 

The brunet crawls over him, smelling his neck sensually.

 

“Mm… Dommie, you smell so fucking good!” he murmurs with a low growl.

 

Dom manages to recover some lucidity.

 

“Matt…” he barely protests, as Matt stops smelling his neck to reach his face, rubbing his cheek against his lover’s cheek.

 

“You can’t even begin to imagine how much I would like to sink my fangs into your neck!” Matthew purrs.

 

Dominic shivers, but it’s not only because of the fear.

 

“That- that’s not the k-kind of … after-sex speeches that I like!” he attempts to protest, but there’s a certain part of his body that seems to like that kind of speech… a lot.

 

Matthew seems to have noticed that as well.

 

“Liar!” he chuckles, kissing him shortly, but deeply.

 

“Anyway, could you please focalize on something that is not my neck?” Dominic almost begs his partner. “For example, my hair, don’t you think that it gets softer after making love?”

 

“Yeah, a lot,” Matt beams, as his hand wanders through Dom’s soft and ruffled hair.

 

“Right. You can focus on my eyes, too. Can’t you read inside them how much I love you?” Dominic goes on.

 

“Every single time I look into them, they just mirror my love for you,” Matt moans, kissing Dom sweetly for a long time.

 

“Yes, honey, and you can concentrate on my arms, too,” Dominic suggests, but Matthew jumps to another conclusion.

 

“Do you mean your wrist?” he wonders, lifting Dom’s right wrist, before covering that skin with little kisses and soft nibbles.

 

 That drives Dom crazy, because it’s one of his weakest points, but after some moans he manages to control himself.

 

“No, Bells, stop with the bitey thoughts!” he orders.

 

Unwillingly, Matt sets his wrist free.

 

“I meant my arms as I hug you, can’t you feel the heat?” Dom points out, hugging Matt tight.

 

“Yeah, baby, but I can’t wait ‘till the day that I won’t have to refrain anymore!” he confesses, stealing one last kiss from Dom, before getting dressed and leaving the room.

 

Dom has the feeling that he won’t have a very serene night, as he recall’s Matt’s last words in his mind.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

Days go by quickly. From Tokyo Muse fly to Australia and the two dates in Sydney arrive soon.

 

The first show at the Big Day Out went awesomely and now Muse are on stage, ready to double the success of the previous night.

 

Matthew has rarely been so overjoyed; he’s cheerful and keeps beaming in Dominic’s direction, without giving a damn about the video cameras.

 

Matthew has the same expression of a kid at Christmas Eve who impatiently waits ‘till midnight to unwrap his gift.

 

The singer recalls the morning, when, kind of early, he left his room and sneaked through Dom’s room, waking the blond up with a fervent kiss and then, full of excitement and great expectations the pianist illustrated to the drummer his plans for the night.

 

Also the ‘gift’ in question is thinking about Matt’s plans, as he plays the drums frantically.

 

Matthew told him that he wants to take Dom to the most beautiful beach that Sydney has to offer to them, have a toast with champagne and strawberries in the moonlight, make love on the sand, near the ocean and then, at sunrise, make Dom his for the eternity.

 

A marvelous plan, if only Dom wasn’t so tortured by doubts and troubled sleep that makes him scared of that eventuality.

 

_“Well, there’s no more time for thoughts. This will be my last show as a human,”_ he ponders as he hits the cymbals with his drumsticks. _“Or maybe not,”_ he muses.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------ 

 

The show has been over for one hour and half and, after spending some time with them, Matt is eager to get rid of their fans.

 

He meets Dom in the corridor that leads the backstage.

 

“C’mon, baby, we’re almost done so we can go!” the brunet grins to his lover.

 

“Yeah. You know what? I’ll leave you here with the fans for another hour, as I go to the beach, waiting for you,” Dom suggests.

 

“Sounds good. So people won’t see us leaving together. So shrewd,” the brunet smiles. “You know, I’ve been thinking about this moment all day long,” he murmurs.

 

“Me, too, honey,” the blond smiles at his best friend.

 

_“Too bad that it’s not in the same way you did. I hate lying to you more than everything else, but I have to,”_ Dom ponders as he leaves.

 

About one hour later Matthew reaches the beach where he set everything up… but Dominic is nowhere to be found.

 

Matthew starts to worry, fearing that something bad happened to his best friend, when his mobile vibrates, informing him that he received a text message.

 

He’s relieved when he sees that it’s from Dom and reads it.

 

‘Search in the pockets of your coat, honey.’

 

Matthew obliges, thinking that it’s a sort of romantic game between them.

 

He finds a folded sheet of paper, with an elegant handwriting inside. It’s a letter from Dom and Matt reads it.

 

_ My beloved Matthew, _

_ When you read this letter, I’ll be on a plane to Melbourne. _

_ I know that you’re eager to make me like you and are waiting for me to find the courage to agree, but, quoting one of our first songs, **you will not find it in me, simply because I can’t.** _

_ Not now, not yet. _

_ This is not a goodbye letter, of course, honey, I still love you with all my coward being, this is just a ‘give me more time’ letter, because you put me under such a pressure that it made me run away. _

_ We’ll talk about it better once you reach me with the others in Melbourne. _

_ Do not follow me now, let’s take a bit of time for ourselves, to think about the future. All I know for sure is that it’s going to be a future together. _

_ I love you. Always have, always will. _

_ Yours. _

_ Dominic _

 

“I’m an idiot,” Matthew curses himself, putting the letter back into his pocket as salty tears wet his face.

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I can’t always write fluffy and happy things… but all I can tell you is… trust me! :)
> 
> Disclaimer: The quote of the letter is from the lyrics of ‘Coma’ , by Muse
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this, please let me know.


	17. XV I: Facing hope and fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew makes some important discoveries, some are good, some are not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is taken from ‘Recess’ lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter XV: Facing hope and fears  
  
- _Stupid! You're bloody stupid, a super massive idiot!_ \-  Matt keeps blaming himself, as he goes back to the hotel.  
  
\- _Congratulations, Matt, you do know the real meaning of giving someone a choice! Okay, they did that to you without even asking, save for when it was too late, but you asked Dom... and when did he exactly give you the impression that he wanted that now? You, bloody idiot!-_ he goes on until he reaches his room.

 

And as soon as he rests his head on the pillow, the anger towards him leaves its place to the sadness and the feeling of loneliness, as tears falls from his eyes once again.

He rereads the letter that Dom wrote to him at least fifteen times more and, wishing that it won’t be too late, he falls asleep with that piece of paper held tight to his heart that, although doesn’t beat anymore, is in pain anyway.

 

\------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
"What does it mean that Dom left?" Chris asks Matt in confusion the morning after, when they all meet for breakfast.  
  
"It means that Dom left, nothing more than this!" Matt shrugs. "Anyway, it's not that he's nowhere to be found, he's just waiting for us at Melbourne!" he adds.  
  
"But why he didn't wait for us?" Tom wonders.  
  
"He needed to stay on his own. Do you remember when I was depressed and kept disappearing every now and then? Now it's Dom's turn. The only difference is that he's not depressed, thank God, he just needed to disappear, since he told me where he wanted to go," Matt clarifies, talking very fast and with a lot of gesticulation.  
  
"Okay, the most important thing is that Dom is fine!" Chris smiles.  
  
"So we'll leave today to reach him," Tom suggests.  
  
"What part of 'he wants to be alone' didn't you get?" Matt rolls his eyes. "We'll stay here, enjoy the town and stuff like that and then we'll leave in two days!" he establishes for everyone.  
  
"Matt, do you know if that happened because of Mandy?" Morgan asks.  
  
"It's always because of that bloody idiot who can't make things right!" he snorts.  
  
"Do you hate Mandy so much?" Chris asks him puzzled.  
  
"I hate everyone who makes my best friend suffer!" Matt reveals. "Well, I'm done here, I guess I'll go to my room, get ready for the day!" he announces, getting up from the table.  
  
 _-A day that will be empty without my Dom_. - the vampire sighs, leaving.  
  
"There's something wrong with that!" Chris grumbles.  
  
"What?" Tom narrows his eyes.  
  
"I mean, they split with their girlfriends at least two weeks ago, so why did Dom have such a crisis now? In the last days he acted like he just didn't care, saving for when they split!" Chris mumbles.  
  
"You're right and it's the same about Matt. I mean, when he split with Gaia he was destroyed," Tom agrees.  
  
"Well, but he spent so many years with Gaia, it's different!" Morgan asserts.  
  
"Anyway, there's still something wrong with that... all the mystery around the two girls, all the secret whispering between Matt and Dom, all their need to isolate," Chris summarizes.  
  
"Yeah, it almost seems that they just pretended to have girlfriends, but why?" Tom wonders.  
  
"Maybe they invented all this stuff to cover the fact that they have a secret relationship together and they can't find the courage to tell us!" Morgan hazards.  
  
Tom and Chris stares at him puzzled for a bunch of seconds and then they burst out laughing shamelessly.  
  
"Geez, Morgan, are you a comedian or something? This is the biggest pile of crap I have ever heard!" Chris says between laughs.  
  
Morgan snorts, rolling his eyes and focusing just on his latte.  
  
"Matt and Dom in love with each other... sure. What's next? Will the Earth start spinning in the opposite direction?" Tom snickers and then he becomes serious again.  
  
"But you're right about one thing. They invented their fake girlfriends, it's evident that they asked those two girls to make a scene with them... but why?" he adds.  
  
"Because they don't want to admit that they are single and lonely, that's what they're ashamed of," Chris figures out. "Especially with me who has a wife, like you do, Morgan, and you have a girlfriend, Tom, although you're not very loyal to her..."  
  
"It's happened only once!" Tom justifies.  
  
"It should have never happened to begin with!" Chris blames him.  
  
"You're right, guys, it must be that. Well, we'll face them when they're together, in Melbourne, so they'll understand that there's nothing to be ashamed for!" Morgan establishes.  
  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The days are gone, inexorably slowly, but they're finally gone and Matt reaches the airport with his friends, as eager as a child who waits for the bell of the last lesson to ring.  
  
After Chris informed Dom about their arrival, Matthew is the fastest one to rush to the hotel, where he finds Dominic standing in the hall.  
  
They don't have the time to utter a word, because the others immediately reach them, but in the few seconds only for them, the singer and the drummer tell each other one million things with their eyes and Matt realises that he needs to be alone with Dom.  
  
"Hey, you, runaway!" Tom laughs, hugging Dom, followed by Chris, as Morgan confines himself to gesturing with his head.  
  
"Well, guys, I apologize to you if I kind of disappeared, but I needed to be on my own. You know, all the shows, the stress... I needed a break," Dom justifies with all his friends but Matt, because the blond has nothing to apologize for with the brunet and even the vampire knows that very well.  
  
"Ok, but don't do that anymore without warning before, we were worried!" Chris states.  
  
"It won't happen again," Dom assures. "Well, now you need to arrange your stuff in your rooms, see you later!"  
  
Tom, Chris and Morgan walk towards the elevator.  
  
"Matt, aren't you coming?" Chris calls him.  
  
"Later, first I want to show Dom a new song I'm working on. You know that he's the only one who can advise me about my works in progress and I need to know now!" Matt informs them.  
  
"Yeah, we know." The others roll their eyes, disappearing behind the doors  
  
"You know, one day you'll have to show them all these supposed songs you're working on!" Dom giggles as he leads his partner towards his room.  
  
"I will," Matt shrugs, but there's no more time for laughs and jokes when Dom closes the door behind their backs.  
  
"Oh, Dominic, I missed you more than blood!" Matt says, taking a step closer to him.  
  
"Eewww! That's not something nice to say!" Dom grimaces, backing off until he reaches his bed and sits on it.  
  
"Believe me, it is!" Matt insists.  
  
"Well, okay, thank you very much, then!" Dom replies annoyed.

 

“I don’t even know where to start to apologize. I’ve been such a fucking idiot!”

 

“Yes, you have!”

 

“I took for granted something when you actually never gave me a reason for taking it for granted.”

“Right, that’s the spirit, go on!” Dom incites him.

 

“I’ve been so insistent that I must have become unbearable,” Matt admits, staring at the floor.

 

“Damn right!”

 

“And I nearly pushed you far away from me,” Matt says with a broken voice.

 

“Nearly,” Dom repeats. “Okay, it’s enough,” he states, getting up from the bed.

 

“So now you realise the big mistake you made,” the blond says, walking towards his partner slowly.

 

“I absolutely did,” Matt assures, finding the courage to face his best friend’s look again.

 

“So you won’t put me under pressure anymore, will you?” the blond takes another step closer.

 

“Any-bloody-more!”

 

“You’ll wait for me to be ready, you’ll give me time for real!” Dom goes on, taking the umpteenth step.

 

“Yep, I will!” Matt stands still, looking at him.

 

“Because you realised that things are perfect the way they are for now… and there’s no need to change them!” the drummer goes on, as he’s only a few inches from the guitarist.

 

“Yep, they’re perfect. I can wait and I will,” Matt swears once again.

 

Dominic’s severe expression turns into a bright smile.

 

“Well, welcome back, Matt!” Dom moans, kissing his mate, shortly but deeply.

 

“Now I feel home!” the vampire smiles at his mate.

 

“Anyway, geez, you always act without thinking!” Dom reproaches him.

 

“Why?” the brunet frowns.

 

“I mean, what if I had said yes to your proposal, what if I was a vampire now? We’re standing in this room, in full sunlight!” the blond makes him notice.

 

“Dammit! The pendant. I hadn’t thought about it!”  Matt slaps his face with his hand.

 

“Yeah, exactly. The pendant. There’s only one.”

 

“So, it’s just about it, is it?” Matt interrogates the human.

 

“Nope, it’s not that I didn’t accept only because of that, there’s more. Do I have to give you another ‘I need time’ lesson?” the drummer snorts.

 

“Nope, please. One is painfully enough,” Matthew sighs. “However, I would give you my pendant.”

 

“What?” Dom stares at his partner dumbfounded.

 

“If I had turned you into a vampire, I would have given you my pendant. You’re a sunny creature much more than I am, I could never take away the sun from you,” Matthew reveals.

 

“But… what about you? The interviews, the photo sessions, the shows? It’s stuff that can happen even in daylight!” the blond makes him notice.

 

“I know, but I don’t mind. I would give up to everything just to make you stay with me eternally!” Matt murmurs, caressing the human’s cheek with the back of his hand.

 

“Wow. It almost sounds like a declaration!” Dominic jokes, but he’s clearly touched by that revelation. “Anyway, Matt, you know that I’m eternally yours,” he whispers to the vampire between kisses.

 

“It’s not the ‘eternally ‘ that I meant,” the brunet protests against his lips.

 

“I know, but I promise that we’ll face everything together when it’s time!” Dom replies, hugging Matt tightly and that deep contact doesn’t request any more words.

 

“Well, I’d better go now or the others will think that I’m showing you the longest song ever, even more than all the three parts of ‘Exogenesis’ put together!” Matthew chuckles, making Dom laugh.

 

“Matt?” the blond calls him when he’s about to open the door.

 

“Yeah?” the brunet turns towards the drummer.

 

“Not more than blood… but I missed you, too!” the blond smiles sincerely at him, making the vampire leave happier.

 

Once he reaches his room, Matt puts his bags on the bed without opening them.

 

His baggage can wait, now he has something more important to do.

 

_\- It there’s a way, I’m going to find it out_!- he muses as he dials a certain phone number.

 

*********************************

 

“Wait a minute, isn’t that guy way too tall, with too many muscles, too long, smooth hair and… too gorgeous?” Michael grumbles, pointing at the guy who Rachel is chatting with on MSN, in the house they temporary found as they’re visiting Berlin.

 

“Well, Michael, I hope you are saying that only because you’re jealous, otherwise I would be very worried!” the vampiress jokes.

 

“Hey! Are you hinting that Matt contaminated me with his love for guys?” Michael grimaces.

 

“Matthew doesn’t love guys. He loves one guy only and this is so damn romantic!” she sighs. “Anyway, Mr. Jealous, calm down! I swear that this sort of Californian surfer to me is only food!” she assures.

 

“Well, couldn’t you pick up uglier food then?” he rolls his eyes, making her giggle.

 

“Shut up and give a look to the girl who I hooked for you, she is coming here in one hour!” she informs him, giving him the other laptop where there’s the picture of a very prosperous, blonde girl around twenty-five years old.

 

“Wow!” Michael exclaims.

 

“WHAT did you say?” his Childe growls.

 

“Well, I was talking about her neck,” he justifies.

 

“Yeah, her neck with D cup, sure!” she grumbles.

 

“Who cares? Probably it’s not even her real picture, she must look different!” Michael states.

 

“Nope, it’s her for real, I know because I saw her on webcam,” Rachel mutters.

 

“Does she have a webcam?” Michael asks her way too thrilled.

 

“Dammit, Michael! Firstly, she’s gone, so you can’t see anything and, secondly, you shouldn’t even care! Thirdly, I’m going to observe you constantly once she is here. I regret the fact that I didn’t pick up the skinny girl!” she grumbles.

 

In less than a heartbeat, Michael is behind her, trapping her in his strong embrace.

 

“Rachel, Rachel, when will you learn that you’re the only girl I want around me?” he murmurs, stealing a kiss from her.

 

“When you say ‘the only girl’ do you mean that you wouldn’t mind having said Californian surfer to keep you company? Well, if you want we can switch our preys!” she strikes back.

 

“Rachel…” her Sire warns her with a soft growl. 

 

“Just joking!” she smiles innocently.

 

“Anyway, the guy is a delicious 0 negative, while the girl is only a banal A positive. You’re still in time to switch them if you want!” she smirks.

 

“Wait… does it mean that you asked them their blood group… and they even answered?” Michael asks her dumbfounded.

 

“Yep, and believe me, that’s not even the weirdest thing that people can ask you in a chat!” she chuckles.

 

“Anyway, why using computers? Isn’t much better a good hunt down the streets, seducing the passengers? It’s been a while since we’ve done it,” Michael point out.

“Well, not tonight, I can’t go out. There’s Desperate Housewives and I don’t want to miss it!” the vampiress protest.

 

“See? Technology fucked everything up! Back to my time, there was no TV, no cinemas, no computers…” 

 

“Yeah, yeah, and in my time, too, but now there are and we have to take the advantages!” she cuts her Sire off. “Then how can it be that technology ruined everything but you can’t miss a single football match of Spain?” she adds pungently.

 

Michael is about to strike back, but his mobile starts to ring, drawing their attention.

 

“It’s Matt, it’s Matt! Pick the call up!” Rachel urges him and he pushes the button to accept the call.

 

“Hey, Matt!” the older vampire cheers.

 

“I know that you probably regret giving me your phone number, but…” the younger vampire babbles.

 

“Not even for a second. I’m your Sire, I’m here to help you, tell me everything,” the other calms him down.

 

“Well, I was about to add a new member to our family…”

 

“Do you mean Dominic?” Rachel cuts him off thrilled.

 

“Yeah, but it didn’t go well, he didn’t feel ready yet, so we’ll go on like that… “ Matt sighs.

 

Rachel and Michael exchange a worried look.

 

“But the point is… geez, I’m such a moron!! I wanted to vampirize him-”

 

“Turn!” Michael interrupts his younger Childe.

 

“What?”

 

“The correct word to say is ‘turn’.” the Spanish vampire explains.

 

“Whatever. The point is that I didn’t think about the consequences. What about sunlight? I don’t have a pendant for him!” Matt goes on.

 

“Well, Matt, finally you’re asking the right questions!” Rachel giggles.

 

“Do you mean that you know where I can find another pendant? Because if it’s so I can take a break from the tour, postponing all the dates, and go searching for the pendant, I don’t care if …” the English vampire begins to increase the speed of his speech.

 

“It’s useless to do that!” Michael informs him.

 

“What? Do you mean that there’s no other available pendant like this in the whole world?” Matt agitates.

“Well, probably there is, but the point is that you don’t need to find it.” Michael smiles.

 

“I don’t get it,” the singer babbles, confused.

 

“Matthew, dear, have you ever wondered why Michael and I need just one pendant?” Rachel questions him.

 

“Well, because one day you used it and the day after Michael used it,” the singer hypothesizes.

 

“Wrong answer!” Michael smirks.

 

“Matthew, have you ever tried to tear the pendant apart?” Rachel smiles.

 

“Do you mean to cut it?” Matthew frowns as he takes the pendant in his hands.

 

“No, never! I mean, grab it from each side and try to pull the parts to the opposite direction, as if you wanted to break it in two!”

 

“But, Rachel, I don’t want to break it!” Matt protests.

 

“Just do as I said!” she orders.

 

“Okay. Wait a minute!” Matthew grumbles, placing the mobile on the bed to oblige.

 

When it does, in a first moment it seems that nothing happens, but he insists and finally he feels the two parts separating, as if they were stuck together by a magnetic force.

 

The pendant splits in two parts, the Yin and the Yang.

 

“But… the pendant is… two pendants!” he exclaims astonished, grabbing the phone again.

 

“Exactly, Matt. Now you know why one pendant is enough!” Michael smiles. “Whoever invented them knew that eternity is not something that you can face alone.”

 

“Cool!” Matt giggles, placing the phone back on the bed, in order to grab the two parts of the pendant and push them together again.

 

“Yeah, so no more problems with sunlight,” Rachel smiles, but then she grieves.  “Matthew, you and Dominic have been together for a month, right?”

 

“Yep, even more than a month, why?” the younger vampire asks.

 

“Because, you know, vampires and humans are not meant to stay together for long!” she reveals.

 

“What?” Matt almost yells at the phone.

 

“Listen, Matt. A Vampire can have human lovers, but it’s all about sex and blood, real love is not involved. You love Dom and you can’t even have his blood. This can put a vampire through a very hard test after a while,” Michael informs him.

 

“It’s not my case. I can resist!” Matt growls in protest.

 

“You can now, sure, but what in two months, four months, six months… one year?” Rachel makes him notice.

 

“But…”

 

“Listen, Matthew, the more you go on like a vampire, the more you’ll act like a vampire and being 24/7 around a human who you can’t even bite will be more and more difficult; you could fall into temptation, surrendering to your fiercest instinct and become dangerous to your beloved Dominic,” Rachel explains to him.

 

“It won’t happen!” Matt insists, as he has a flashback of when his demon was about to take control.

 

“I wish, for you. You know, there’s no rumor or proof about a long-term love relationship between a vampire and a human, so we can’t guarantee if this can last, but you could prove us wrong,” Michael states.

 

“I will!” Matthew swears.

 

“Maybe it would be easier if Dominic was your human slave,” the girl hints.

 

“My what?”

 

“You know, for good measure, every vampire can choose among the humans one who will be their sort of… living stock of blood. The vampire gives the human a special bite with a little exchange of blood. After that the human keeps living, but doesn’t grow old anymore and remains at the whole disposal for the vampire’s feeding, but the vampire is not forced to feed from the human, most of vampires do that only to keep the ones they care with them, without turning them,” the vampiress explains.

 

“Cool!” Matt says, intrigued, but then he changes his mind. “Okay, where’s the hook?”

 

“First, it’s a kind of bite that you can’t do before at least one year of un-life,” Michael informs him. “But mostly vampires and their human slaves can’t have sex with each-other!”

 

“No fucking way!” the front man growls. “I hate all these vampire laws!”

 

“I know, they’re not fun, but I didn’t make them!” Michael agrees.

 

“Plus, I don’t know… even if there weren’t those two clauses I wouldn’t have made Dom my human slave. It’s not the same. I want us to be even, I want him to be like me, I want to share this world with him,” he confesses.

 

“I know, dear!” Rachel smiles.

 

“So do you already have your human slave?” the musician asks them.

 

“Not yet,” Michael answers.

 

“I chose my big sister; there’s always been a special bond between us, so when, about two years after my death, I came to her and I told her the truth, she accepted that solution and she will be thirty years old forever!” Rachel reveals.

 

“And is she happy?” Matthew wonders, kind of skeptic.

 

“You know, my sister wasn’t lucky. She is sterile and her husband hated her for that reason, he even beat her; he was such a violent and rude man, but she was too afraid to leave him. Isn’t very absurd to be afraid of the man who swore to love and protect you until the end of his days?” Rachel kept her tale, grieving a little bit. “I wanted to do something for her and I did. Now she’s truly happy and in love with a friend of Michael’s, they’ve been together for almost a century!” she grins.

 

“What about her horrible husband?” Matt asks her.

 

“What do you think?” Michael sneers with a sneaker.

 

“Oh. Well, he just deserved that!” the Englishman shrugs.

 

“He bloody did!” Rachel sighs bitterly, as Michael hugs her from behind.

 

“So, Matthew, the only advice I can give you is to go on with your relationship with Dom, but be warned,” Michael states.

 

“I will. Thanks for everything.” Matthew hangs up, with new hopes in his heart, but new fears, too.

 

\----------------------------------------------- 

 

The concert that night goes greatly, as Dom and Matt do nothing but smile and stare at each other with a new found harmony.

 

Once the show is done, they go change their clothes and, when Dom leaves his dressing room, he sees Matt from afar, as he’s busy with three young girls, around twenty years old, taking them into his dressing room.

 

“Dinner time, eh?” Dominic cheers, reaching his mate.

 

Matt nods with a smile, as the girls don’t get the real meaning of those words.

 

“Are we going to the restaurant all together?” one of them asks excited.

 

“Not exactly, lady,” Matthew giggles and then smiles at Dom. “Do you want to join us?”

 

“Sure!” the blond approves.

 

“But, Matty, you told us that we were going to have some fun, only you and us… we don’t want Dom around!” the second girl protests, hugging Matt.

 

“Well, I don’t mind at all!” the third girl smirks, winking at Dominic.

 

“Well, my dear girls, we don’t give a damn about what you want, it’s about what Dom and I want. So now go to my dressing room!” Matt says harshly and the girls obey without any wonder.

 

“Well, baby, give me a minute and I’ll be only yours!” Matt smiles at Dom, closing the door.

 

“Baby?” the first girl exclaims in confusion.

 

“Yours?” the second girl grimaces.

 

“Minute?” the third girl repeats, nervous.

 

But they have no more time to think or be worried once Matt approaches them with a strange light flashing in his eyes.

 

Dominic rests his back on the wall, enjoying his boyfriend’s hypnotic show.

 

“Now, that’s better!” Matthew smirks, as his eyes return to normal and he walks towards his mate.

 

“Yep! They were way too chatty… and hugged too much!” Dom retorts, a little bothered.

 

“Come here, my big jealous guy!” Matt chuckles, ready to kiss him, but the blond backs off.

 

“No, Matt! I mean, not here… with the girls watching!” he wavers.

 

“Well, but they’re under my spell, they can’t be aware of anything, trust me!” the brunet assures, caressing Dom’s hair.

 

“Just what I needed to know!” Dom sneers, kissing Matt, famished.

 

“Okay, now have your dinner,” Dom lets him go. “I missed seeing you feed so damn much!” he adds in a whisper.

 

“I know!” Matt smirks, before taking good care of his victims.

 

Once he’s done, the girls leave the dressing room, without even knowing what happened.

 

“How was the hunt in Sydney?” Dom asks Matt.

 

“Well, I didn’t have any trouble, because Tom, Morgan and Chris didn’t stick to me like you do!”

 

“Hey!” Dom protests, insulted.

 

“But I missed those moments where you were always with me, in London. Everything was easier there. Anyway, the hunt is much more exciting with you watching me,” Matt murmurs.

 

“I know and I love seeing your hunting. Besides, if one day I’ll do the same thing I’d better get used to that, right?” the blond smirks.

 

“Damn right!” Matt smiles, kissing his forehead, since Dom still has some troubles to kiss him right after he fed.

 

- _Rachel and Michael can’t be right. I’ll give Dom all the time he needs and everything will be fine. There’s no need to tell Dom what they told me!-_ Matt muses as he holds his mate in his arms.

(End I )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for your time ^^


	18. XV II: Facing hope and fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paranoia is in bloom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: saving a little scene with the three dummy guys (that’s my affectionate way to call Chris, Tom and Morgan in this story ;) ) , this is NOT a funny chapter! There’s violence, too, be warned (I told you this is not a funny chapter!)
> 
> After all, I said that this story would become a little dark, too.
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from ‘Recess’ lyrics, by Muse.

Chapter XV II: Facing hopes and fears

 

Days go by, weeks go by, months go by , date after date, and things between the two lovers are so perfect and serene that Matt doesn't even seem ro remember Michael and Rachel's warning.

  
One night, after the show in the Rexal Place of Edmonton, in Canada, in the last days of March, Matthew and Dominic managed to isolate from the others ad they have taken advantage of that to spend some precious time alone in Dom's room.  
  
"I wish you could stay here with me tonight," the blond murmurs, as the brunet rests his head on his stomach, after making love in the sweetest way ever.  
  
"I'd like to, and... you know what? I'm going to stay!" the brunet establishes.  
  
"But... what about all the others around? What if they saw us leaving the same room?" Dom alarms.  
  
"I don't give a fuck, I want to take the risk!" Matt assures, raising his head to face his partner's look.  
  
"Really?" Dom's face lights up. "I'm so happy, Matteh. We haven't slept together since... I don't even know!" he adds, bending to kiss his mate properly.  
  
"Anyway, I can't believe that our friends are so easy to fool!" Matt chuckles.  
  
"Yep, you told them that you had a headache, I told them that my stomach was messy... and they swallowed it!" the drummer giggles as well.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't know why they've been making all those odd speeches, for almost two months, about all the advantages of being single," the singer frowns.  
  
"You're right. Probably they are having trouble with their women," the percussionist shrugs.  
  
"I can understand the others... but Chris?" Matt stares at his boyfriend in disbelief.  
  
"You're right, it must be something else but, to be honest, I don't care!"  
  
"Neither do I!" Matt smirks, kissing him again.  
  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
During the sleep they both keep twisting and turning, changing positions until they end up spooning, Matt behind Dom, his head on the blond's shoulder.  
  
# When, around 5:00 a.m., the brunet opens his eyes, the first thing that he sees is his lover with his bare and so exposed neck.  
  
The room is totally dark, but he can see everything perfectly.  
  
He smells Dom's neck and even licks it, so softly that his still sleeping partner doesn’t realise it.  
  
Dominic's blood is calling Matthew, but he's trying hard to resist.  
  
 **- _C'mon, taste his blood, just a little bit, there won't be any harm._** _I can't... if I taste his blood, I won't be able to stop anymore! -_ Matt argues with his inner demon, as he keeps staring at Dom's neck.  
  
\- **_Well, that's even better. He's unable to take a decision, do that for him._** _I can't do that, I promised him_. **_Oh, c'mon , he'll understand, you have all the eternity to make him forgive you, you know what? I'm sure that he will be thankful to you. Oh, c'mon, you want him, don't you?_** _More than anything else._ ** _-_** the struggle with his demon goes on as Matt bents over Dom's neck a little more.  
  
 ** _\- Yeah, good boy, just like this. Have a little taste, then. C'mon, enjoy his sweet blood, make both of you happy!-_** the demon urges him and Matt begins to nibble Dom's neck, softly.  
  
The blond smiles in his sleep and that's what convinces Matt that he's doing the right thing.  
  
He lets his sharp canines descend and sink them into that soft, tanned skin, enjoying the first drops of blood that go down his throat.  
  
Dom immediately jolts and wakes up, yelping in pain.  
  
"Maaatt! NOOOOO!" he screams, but Matt wraps a hand around his mouth.  
  
"Hush, baby, hush. Everything is okay," he says, staring at him with his electric blue, fluorescent eyes, before biting on his neck again.  
  
Dom bites his hand fiercely, in order to break free.  
  
"OUCH! It hurts like hell, stop it. Fucking stop it!" he protests lively.  
  
"It hurts because you're putting up resistance to me. Don't do it anymore, baby, it's going to be wonderful!" Matt strikes back, as he straddles the blond to hold his hands still, pushing them against the wall.  
  
"It's not wonderful, it's horrible! Please, Matt, stop it. You can't do this to me, to us... Matt..." he cries and his salty tears go down his chin and then on his neck.  
  
"But I'm doing this for us, baby, you're going to like this, you'll be thankful to me!” Matt growls, tasting both of Dominic's blood and tears.  
  
"Don't. Please, don't..." Dom yelps again, as he becomes limper and limper.

“Shut up and enjoy that!” Matt orders, harshly, as he keeps drinking.

 

Since he doesn’t hear Dom protesting anymore, the vampire thinks that he has finally given in and goes on drinking his blood, greedily.

 

When he feels sated, Matt parts from the blond’s neck, ready to make Dom drink his supernatural blood, but Dom is staring at him with blank and empty, open eyes, with an expression of terror in them and no vital pulse in his body, with the last drops of blood that stain the sheets.

 

“D-D-Dom?” Matt stutters, placing uselessly his head on Dom’s heart that doesn’t beat anymore.

 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Oh, God! What have I done?” he cries desperate. #

 

“Noooooooo, Dom!” Matt jolts awake, bewildered, shivering for the scare and with teary eyes.

 

He’s hugging Dominic and the clock informs him that it’s 5:00 a.m., but there’s no drops of blood on the sheets and Dom is just sleeping, safe and soundly, rocking the brunet with his heat and his breath.

 

_\- It was only a horrible nightmare!_ – he realises, thanking with all his being that God who he doesn’t believe in.

 

Ignoring Dom’s moans of protest, Matthew slides away from the blond and turns to the other side of the bed, turning his back to him, because he doesn’t want to break his promise of staying there until morning, but it’s better if he doesn’t see his neck anymore.

 

He’s still too shocked to sleep, so he spends all the remaining time awake, with tons of thoughts running through his head.

 

And he's still awake when Dom pops his eyes open, stirring, focusing immediately on who is in the same bed with him.  
  
"You stayed! Matt, you stayed! I'm so happy!!" he exults, jumping on him happily and hugging him tight.  
  
Matthew's intention is to smile at his mate, but the contact brings that terrible memory back and he breaks down and cries just like a child.  
  
"Honey, what's wrong?" Dominic asks dumbfounded, caressing his back to calm him down.  
  
"Dom, it's terrible. To-toninght... I killed you!" the brunet says between yelps and tears.  
  
"But what are you blathering about? I'm more than alive, my heart is beating and..."  
  
"No, Dom. I mean in my dreams. I killed you, bit you, determined to turn you, utterly uncaring of all your protests, your shouts and your tears, I've kept drinking your blood until... it was too late to do anything... and you were dead!" he resumes, as he hugs him.  
  
Dom lets a 'Oh!' escape from his mouth.  
  
"Well, Matt, did you say that it was a dream, or rather a nightmare, right? So, calm down, honey, nothing bad happened!" Dom murmurs, as he caresses softly Matt's hair, kissing his temple.  
  
"But in dreams there's always some hidden truth. Dominic, this could happen. Do you remember when my demon took control? Well, in my nightmare it happened again, but it was one hundred times worse, the demon had overpowered me, it wasn't me anymore. All I could think of was blood. Your blood. And I acted horribly towards you, as if I was a sort of rapist... but there wasn't nothing sexual... at least I think so... Oh, God, I don't know... I could have been able of every kind of atrocity!" Matt goes on, with broken voice, as he recalls the images of that dreadful nightmare.  
  
"You're just stressed and worn out, that's why you had such a troubled sleep. I'll tell you what. Now you'll have a nice breakfast and you'll relax and have some rest before the sound-check for the Pengrowth Saddledome, and then tonight we'll perform a kick-ass show and everything will be alright!" Dom comforts his best friend.  
  
"Nope, Dommeh, I wish it was so simple, but it's not. There's something that my Sire and his Queen told me!" Matt informs the blond, revealing all he knows about the relationships between humans and vampires.  
  
"So, can't you see? This relationship could become dangerous. I could become dangerous. From now on, until you don't feel ready, we'll need to slow down, starting with no more sleeping together!" Matthew decides, getting up and walking towards the bathroom to get himself ready.  
  
Once he's alone, Dom is finally free to be scared and shocked by all those news, but he wears his mask of calm again, once Matthew leaves the bathroom.  
  
"So no more sleeping together." the blond repeats, pouting.  
  
"Yep, it's going to be hard for me, too. I'll miss you more than..."  
  
"Blood?" he anticipates Matt as he sits close to the drummer.  
  
"Yep," the brunet smiles shyly.  
  
"What if when we make love I muzzled you? Like Hannibal Lector! I could play the brave, but very naive Clarice," Dom suggests.  
  
"Dom! It's something serious!" Matt protests, but he can't resist and burst out laughing with his mate.  
  
"See, baby? You always manage to bring the smile back to me," Matt whispers, searching for Dom's hand. "That's one of the reasons why I love you so much!" he adds, squeezing it.  
  
"Now you'd better go get yourself ready and I'd better go back to my room, hoping that the coast is clear but I think it is, I can't feel anyone around," Matt says, leavings Dom's hand and room.  
  
 _\- He dreamed about killing me, drinking all my blood. And he could become that dangerous for real, just like when he was about to... No, I must not think about all this horrible stuff, everything will be fine!_ \- Dom tries to shake away both of his bad thoughts and memories, as he turns on the water of the shower.  
  
\--------------------------------------------------  
  
Dom and Matt meet their friends in the hall and they enjoy their breakfast together.  
  
"So did you have a good time yesterday?" Matt asks them, casually, as he takes the orange jam and a slice of bread.  
  
"Yes, but not so much as we wished. You know, ringing mobiles, girlfriends or wives who ask you not to be too late... and stuff like that!" Tom rolls his eyes, as he sips his double coffee.  
  
"It's their way to show you that they care about you!" Dominic defends the women as he pours some milk in a bowl.  
  
"We know that they care, but there's no bloody need to show us 24/7!" Morgan snorts as he cuts a large slice of chocolate cake.  
  
"Damn right! You know, I envy you, guys. Matt, you have your freedom again and, Dom, you probably have never ever really lost it!" Chris chuckles, biting a croissant with cream.  
  
"Okay, enough with this crap! What the hell is this continuous pointing at the fact that we're lucky because we have no woman around?" Matt questions his friends once for all, as he dips the knife in the jam, before smearing the bread.  
  
"Matt is right, you've been acting so oddly, especially you, Chris, this is not you. I don't believe any single word that you all said!" Dom snaps, as he takes a box of cereals.  
  
"Okay, game over! Let's face the truth!" Chris gives in.  
  
"Yeah, but you must confess that those girlfriends were fake!" Tom gives them a hard time.  
  
"How did you find it out?" Dom betrays himself.  
  
"Oh, please, it was so evident! We didn't get it immediately, but thinking about it... there were too many odd things!" Chris explains.  
  
"A brilliant plan, right?" Dom hisses at Matt in a whisper.  
  
"And we know even the reason why you did that, with all that continous isolating is impossible not to guess hwy," Tom goes on.  
  
"Re-really?" Matt gulps down, letting the slice of bread slip on the table and smearing his own hand with the jam.  
  
Dom is not in better conditions, since he pours the cereal on the table, utterly missing the bowl.  
  
"See? We hit the mark!" Morgan smirks.  
  
"Yeah, guys, you're sick of being single and are ashamed of that when you're with us, especially you, Dom, since you've been single for longer than Matt," Tom states.  
  
"That's why you invented those girlfriends, Dom even pretended to be depressed and stuff like that," Chris nods.  
  
Dom and Matt exchange a look of pure relief.  
  
"Congratulations, you found out our little dirty secret!" Matt makes fun of them, as he cleans his now sticky hand.  
  
"Yeah, guys, it's impossible to hide something  from you!" Dom teases them as well, gathering all the scattered cereals.  
 

“We are just too smart!” Tom brags.

“Everything started that night, when you heard us talking by the phone, Dom and I pretended to have girlfriends and being romantic with them, just for fun, you know that Dom and I are dickheads!” Matt chuckles.

“Yeah, but when we realised that you had heard us, you were so thrilled about the idea of meeting our girlfriends that we hadn’t the guts to tell you the truth,” Dom goes on, proving once more the perfect understanding between him and Matt.

“That’s why we’ve set all that scene, with two very gentle girls who helped us!” the guitarist explains.

“Yep, and doing that we even earned a free afternoon around Tokyo!” Dom sticks out his tongue at Tom, playfully.

“You dirty cheaters!” Tom accuses them and then bursts out laughing.

“However, guys, you have no reason to be ashamed, okay? I’m sure that you’ll meet soon the right girl for you,” Chris comforts his friends, patting their shoulders.

“Well, sometimes the right person is in front of you, you just have to figure it out!” Dom states, making Matt smile.

“Hey, guys, do you want to have a big laugh?” Tom says. “C’mon, Morgan, tell them what you thought that they were doing!”

“Yeah, guys, you’ll fall from your chairs laughing!” Chris chuckles.

“Well… you know,” Morgan trails. “I sort of thought that you had a secret, mutual love affair!”

Matt stares at Morgan silently, then he glances at Tom and Chris.

“Surprise, surprise!” he shrugs, astonishing the blond.

The other question him with their dumbfounded faces.

“I mean, have you ever taken a look at the web? It’s full of hints about the fact that Dom and me secretly love each other. There are sketches, photoshopped pictures, comics, some of our own lyrics with a different interpretation and stuff like that!” the singer points out.

“Yep. They’re so convincing that sooner or later we’ll end up believing that it’s true. Am I right honey?” Dom murmurs, as he holds Matt’s hand and pinches his cheek affectionately.

“Of course, my baby!” the pianist murmurs, squeezing the drummer’s hand and ruffling his golden hair.

“Okay, guys, very funny!” Tom laughs.

“Yeah, but now make this sickening show end!” Chris pleads.

 

“Are you sure? We could even reach the moment when we kiss each other!” Matt smirks, pretending that it’s a game.

 

“Don’t, please!” Tom, Chris and Morgan strike back at unison.

 

Dom smirks as well.

 

“Sorry, Mattie, you’ll never find out how sweet my lips taste!” he hints, making the others laugh.

 

_\- Okay, our friends are definitely not ready to see us together yet... and I wonder if they ever will._ – the blond muses and even without that power, Matthew can clearly read his mind, because it’s the same thing that he’s thinking.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

The concert at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary ends and after a short party, without being too late because of the incoming show of the day after, all the guys come back and everyone goes to the respective room.

 

Dom gets ready to go to sleep. He lies down on his bed, staring at the empty side melancholically.

 

That brings the guy’s thoughts to one direction only.

 

\- _No more sleeping together. No more too much time to spend together. And it’s only my fault, because I can’t take a decision!_ – he muses, as he drums nervously his fingers on his thigh.

 

- _After all, Matthew has been so good and patient with me, he showed me that he can wait, maybe I should reward him for that.-_ he ponders, as his eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

 

\- _Whatever scares me now, although I don’t even know what it is, will keep scaring me even in five months... or five years. The only way to win against my fears is to face them. What there could be so scary in an eternity to spend with Matt by my side? Besides, he would be so happy if I said yes. Probably I should, that would make me happy as well. Oh, c’mon, do it, Dom, what could ever happen?-_ the blond incites himself, before drifting away in numbness.

 

# “Go away!” Chris hisses.

 

“Oh, please, don’t be a baby and let me in. You know that I could come in anyway!” Dominic sneers.

“Fine. Why don’t you do it then?” Chris challenges him.

“Because I don’t want to. I like being invited. I want you to willingly invite me in, because you accepted what I am, what I became!” Dom goes on, baring two long, pointy canines.

“I can’t. You can’t expect me to act as if nothing happened!”

“It’s exactly the same thing that Morgan and Tom told me when I went to them and they both slammed the door in my face. Why do you all have to make things so harder?” Dom insists.

“For God’s sake, Dom! You killed two innocent girls in the backstage area!” Chris recalls, horrified.

“You weren’t supposed to see that!”

“But we did and it was gruesome!”

“I could have made you forget it as I could have made you forget when I told you that I’m a vampire now, but I didn’t. You should be grateful to me for that!” Dom makes him notice.

“Grateful? You shocked our lives forever. You’re a killer!” Chris asserts.

“Don’t talk so big!” his listener laughs scornfully. “It happened only once. I was hungrier than usual and Matt wasn’t there, but there were those girls,” the vampire sneers evilly. “Why do you care so much? After all, they’re two perfect strangers!” he shrugs.

“I... I don’t recognise you anymore.”

“Maybe, you’ve never known me at all!” Dominic smiles satanically.

“You’re a fucking monster! Stay the hell away from me and my family!” Chris shouts furiously.

Matthew has been lurking in the shadows, waiting for his mate, but when he hears Chris insulting him, he can’t remain hidden anymore.

“Take it back, no one can insult my baby!” the pianist growls at his friend.

“So, you’re here, too!” the bassist rolls his eyes.

“However, think about Muse and…” Matt trails, with a calmer tone.

“I don’t give a fuck about Muse, I don’t give a fuck to anything! Saving Tom, I have no best friends anymore!” the bassist hisses coldly.

“Don’t… don’t talk like this,” Matthew pleads, deeply hurt.

“Matt, we’re just wasting our time here. Okay, that’s true, we have all the eternity, but I don’t think it’s wise to spend it like this!” Dom grumbles, much more insensible.

“You know, Matt, I still don’t know who I hate the most. You, for what you did to Dom, or Dom, for letting you do that! At least you’ve been turned into a vampire without knowing that, but Dom… he freely chooses to become such a bloody, fucking, disgusting monster!” Chris snaps.

“Don’t you dare insult him in such a way anymore, did you get it?” Matt growls, grabbing Chris by the neck with one hand and tightening his grip so much that Chris has trouble breathing.

“You… you can’t understand,” he murmurs, putting the human down, as Chris massages his neck, recovering from the scare.

“Let’s leave him alone, Matt, he will never understand!” Dom states coldly, staring at Chris for the last time, before leaving with his Sire.

“Dominic, I’m so sorry that things didn’t go as I wished,” the brunet asserts, as they walk away.

“Things don’t always go as we wish,” his Childe strikes back, as he fidgets the drumsticks in a pocket of his jeans.

“But even if it’s me and you against the world, we’ll have each other forever,” Matt caresses his cheek. “Aren’t you happy?” he murmurs, a few inches from the blond’s lips.

Dominic smiles at him and closes the distance with a deep kiss, as he breaks the drumsticks in his pocket, making it have a sharp point. 

“No, Matt,” he whispers, as he draws out that makeshift stake and pushes it into the brunet’s heart. “ _Now_ I’m happy!” he hisses, watching his Sire explode in a pile of dust. #

 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Dom screams, jolting awake and sitting up on the bed.

He’s still panic-stricken, covered in cold sweat, with his hand on his heart that’s beating madly.

When his heart decides to slow down to a more normal rhythm, Dominic gets up, wearing the first things that he grabs.

There’s only a thing that he can do and he leaves his room, determined to do that.

 

(End II) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there was a lot of violence… even if they were only nightmares (you got that the part between ‘#’ are dreams, didn’t you? ;) )
> 
> Well, Dom’s dream was evident, but maybe Matt’s dream could have deceived you…
> 
> Please, whatever you think, let me know… if you have the time, of course! ^^


	19. XV III: Facing hope and fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt and Dom know that they can’t go on like that… and Matt decides to do something.

Chapter XV III: Facing Hopes and Fears 

 

Uncaring about the fact that someone might see him, Dominic crosses the corridor and turns to the left, heading to the last room, which is Matt’s.

 

The blond knocks nervously at the door and a half-sleepy, half-numb Matt opens it.

 

To the vampire, seeing Dom is like hearing the most powerful alarm clock.

 

“Dom!” he gasps, inviting him in.

 

“I know that you said no more sleeping together, but I need to talk,” the blond clarifies, fear and shock still visible on his face.

 

“Sure, baby! Tell me everything. What happened? You look terrible!” Matthew makes his best friend sit on the bed with him.

 

“Well, thank you! That’s just the kind of thing I needed to hear!” Dom snorts, recovering a little bit.

 

“Silly! You know what I meant. And you know that you’re always so, so beautiful!” the brunet murmurs, making the blond smile, but it’s a very short smile.

 

“Matthew, I had nightmare. You turned me and...”

 

“Really?” Matt cuts him off, a huge grin lighting up his face. “Well, it can’t be a nightmare, then; it’s a beautiful dream!” he beams.

 

“Shut up and listen to me!” Dom snaps. “Believe me, it was the king of all the nightmares. We were talking with Chris, but Chris hated us. It was so horrible. All of our friends hated us and everyone had abandoned us. No more Muse, no more music, no more anything!” Dom starts his tale.

 

“Oh, Dommie! You’re exaggerating. I’m sure that things won’t be so horrible, if I...”

 

“Matthew, I told you to shut up!” Dom snaps again. “You still have to hear the most horrible part,” he informs his partner.

 

“Is there a more horrible part than that?” Matt wonders sceptically.

 

“Sadly, there is. The point is not that we were completely alone; the point is that I turned into something that scares the hell out of me. I was different, so cold and evil. Chris told me that I had killed two innocent people!” Dom goes on with his terrible report.

 

“Really?” Matt asks him, stunned.

 

“Yeah, but that’s not the worst part,” Dom confesses.

 

“I don’t know if I want to hear that...” Matt jabbers.

 

“You have to, Matthew. I hated myself, but the person I hated the most... it was you. And in the end... I killed you!” Dom reveals, crying and thrusting himself into the brunet’s arms, shaking, shivering and yelping.

 

“You-you killed me?” Matt trails, gulping.

 

“Yes, with a makeshift stake, right into your heart, while I kissed you... please, don’t make me recall it, it’s so fucking horrible!” Dom cries against his chest, as Matt draws little circles around the blond’s back, slowly, in order to sooth him.

 

“Well, I killed you in my nightmare; you killed me in yours. We’re even!” the singer jokes.

 

“Matthew! There’s nothing funny in that!” Dom raises his head and glares at him with swollen eyes.

 

“I know, I was trying to take some drama away!” the other justifies, hugging him tight.

 

“Oh, Matt, can’t you see? These nightmares must be a warning,” the drummer asserts.

 

“Don’t talk crap! It was just a nightmare, it’s something that happens! We’re tired and stressed and the tour is not helping. But I’m sure that there’s nothing to worry about!” Matt murmurs, rubbing his face against Dom’s.

 

“Are you sure, honey?” Dom asks in a quiet voice.

 

“I am. Now go back to your room and sleep.”

 

“I can’t. If I dream about it again, I...” Dom protests, shivering again.

 

“Come here, baby,” Matt cups his face, kissing him tenderly and slowly.

 

Dom smiles against Matt’s lips, deepening their kiss.

 

“I kissed all your bad dreams away. Now go back to sleep,” the frontman smiles at his mate.

 

Dom smiles back and walks towards the door.

 

“I love you, Matt. Never forget it,” he whispers so softly that Matt must resort to his supernatural powers to hear him.

 

Once the blond has left, Matt throws himself on the bed.

 

He just pretended with Dom that everything was okay; truth is that he’s even more frightened than his best friend.

 

_\- There’s something horribly wrong with that. What the bloody hell is happening to us?-_   he wonders, perfectly aware that the thought will keep him up all night long.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------- 

 

An old saying asserts that time sets things right.

It’s not the case for Dominic and Matthew. Time does nothing but make things even worse.

 

Their nights are haunted by nightmares, in a different time, in a different situation, but all of them with the same, atrocious ending, every damn time.

 

And when they manage to get some time to spend on their own, the bloodcurdling images of their nightmares assault them, making impossible for them to get intimate.

 

They are so professional that their private troubles don’t interfere with their performances, but all the shows lack that special chemistry between the frontman and the drummer.

 

Tom, Chris and Morgan notice that, but they prefer to say nothing, since on the technical aspect both of them are perfect.

 

Before the show at the  Mandalay Bay Events Center , in Las Vegas, as the others are outside, enjoying the support act, Matt and Dom are in the blond’s dressing room.

 

“There’s something I didn’t tell you,” Dom starts, staring at his Converse.

 

“What?” Matt asks him, setting his glittery jacket straight.

 

“The night of my first nightmare... I wanted to say yes,” the blond confesses.

 

“Yes to what?” Matt jolts, but needs a confirmation.

 

“Yes to your proposal. Yes to becoming like you. I felt ready, but now...”

 

“You’re afraid,” Matt ends the sentence for him.

 

“Yep,” Dom sighs.

 

“As I am!” Matt reveals.

 

“You, too?” Dom stares at him, stunned.

 

“Recurring nightmares are always scary, but sometimes they just fool us. Do you remember our very first show at Wembley? I had been dreaming for a whole week that it was a disaster, the effects didn’t work, I forgot all the lyrics, you lost the beats, Chris broke a chord and the crowd was mad at us. Instead, it was one of our best shows ever!” the singer says.

 

“Did you really have all those nightmares?” Dom questions his best friend in disbelief.

 

“Yeah, I did,” Matt confirms, unable to look at the blond.

 

“Bells...” Dom resorts to his warning tone.

 

“Okay, nope, I never did. But the point is that I truly believe that a recurring nightmare doesn’t always mean bad stuff. “

 

“What did your Sire tell you?” the percussionist asks him.

 

“Well, I didn’t tell them. This time I don’t think that Michael or Rachel can do anything to help me. It’s something that I have to face on my own!” the vampire replies.

 

_\- Besides, I fear what they could tell me too much_!- he ponders.

 

“We’re allowing our personal fears and paranoia to prevent us from being happy!” the brunet goes on, holding his mate’s hand.

 

“Right now I’m anything but happy, Matt. This is the only closeness we can reach; even kissing you is becoming harder and harder,” Dom says as some salty tears fall from his stormy eyes

 

Matt pulls him closer, kissing away his tears.

 

“I know, baby, but it’s like you’re becoming something that is more and more fragile, day by day and I’m afraid to break it,” Matt confesses, pausing. “ _ ’Fragile and stripped to the core/ I can ‘t hurt you anymore,’ _ ”  he sings low, with a sad smile.

 

“Matt,” Dom murmurs, squeezing his hand, visibly touched.

 

“There’s no way I’m going to play this song tonight, it would hurt me too much. And now that you revealed that you would have followed me into my world, it’s even worse,” the singer sighs, getting up from the sofa they were sitting on.

 

“I know, Matthew, but there must be a solution…” Dom says, trailing off.

 

“Well, find it, then,” Matt shrugs coldly, leaving the room.

 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------- 

 

The show in Las Vegas doesn’t go very well. Matt and Dom are quite distracted, Matt confuses the lyrics more than once, Dom plays less vigorously than usual, but the crowd is too excited and happy to notice those imperfections.

 

But someone did and he’s not happy at all.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you? Matt, you were a disaster and you, Dom, a zombie would have been livelier than you were on stage! Let’s hope there won’t be many videos around of this awful show!” Tom snaps, as the members of Muse are going to their dressing rooms.

 

“Besides, Matt, who the fuck allowed you to take ‘Guiding Light’ off the playlist?” the manager adds, pissed off, as Chris and Morgan leave their friends alone.

 

“It’s my fault!” Dom exclaims.

 

“What?” Tom narrows his eyes at him.

 

“Yeah. I told Matt that this wasn’t the proper night to play that song and I filled him with doubts about it,” the blond explains, exchanging a look with Matthew.

 

After all, it really is Dom’s fault.

 

“Well, at least let me know first, the next time you take this kind of decisions!” Tom grumbles, in a calmer voice.

 

“Guys, I know that we’ve been touring for so long, in every corner of the world, which can be very exhausting and stressful, especially for you, Matt, but you just have to hold on for few more days and then we’ll have a huge break, when we all can relax and everything will be better and easier!” the manager cheers them up.

 

“Okay, Tom, I’ll hold on and behave for the next few days,” Matthew solemnly swears, before walking way.

 

_\- I have to do something before this long break, and maybe I already know what to do_.- the gorgeous  singer ponders.

 

\-------------------------------------------------- 

 

Matthew keeps his promise and the next shows go much better, although his private un-life does not.

 

It’s the last day and the last show, at Foro Sol, in Mexico City.

 

A few moments before going on stage, Matt slides closer to Dom.

 

“Wait for me at the end of the concert. We need to talk,” he whispers in his ear and the blond confines himself to nodding.

 

\------------------------------------------------------- 

 

The show ends in a climax of applauses and cheerful yells.

 

Muse goes backstage, in order to change their clothes and spend a bit of time with their fans.

 

Chris leaves immediately after, because there’s an airplane waiting for him and he can’t wait to see his beloved family again.

 

Tom and Morgan feel too tired to do anything and decide to go back to the hotel, so no one wonders where Dom and Matt are.

 

As a matter of fact, once they’ve said bye to their fans, the front man and the drummer go backstage.

 

“Why did you ask me to stay?” Dom wonders.

 

“You’ll see. Now we just have to wait,” Matt informs him, hiding with him in the blond’s dressing room.

 

“Wait for what?”

 

“For this place to be empty. I told the security stuff to tell everyone that we would leave immediately, so there should be no one around in one hour,” the singer explains, closing the door behind their backs.

 

The guitarist is right, because one by one all the fans leave the place and then also the technicians and the security staff do.

 

“Finally alone,” Matt smiles, leaving the room. Dom follows him.

 

“Where are we going and what are you planning?” the percussionist interrogates him.

 

“Two questions, one answer,” Matt chuckles, leading his best friend to his own dressing room.

 

“That’s the piano that you used on stage!” Dominic comments, pointing at the black Kawai piano.

 

“Of course, it is. I asked the staff to bring it here.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Sit down,” Matthew invites the blond to sit on his sofa, while he goes to the piano.

 

“You know that we can’t go on this way, don’t you?”

 

“Yeah, we’re growing so distant day by day that we might as well be strangers!” Dom sighs unhappily.

 

“That’s right. Now there’s the break and you’ll have a lot of time to think about it, and then you’ll decide,” Matt says.

 

“What… what if I choose to remain human?” Dominic hazards.

 

Matthew feels as if someone had just stabbed his heart with a stake, but he doesn’t show any emotion outside.

 

“Well, do you remember the night when you found out the truth and you told me that you didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore, save our band? That’s what we’ll do. We’ll just be two people doing the same job. No more lovers, no more best friends. No more… us,” Matt displays that sad idea, grieving.

 

“It’s horrible!” Dom complains.

 

“I know, but if you want to live your life, I’ll let you, but don’t ask me to be part of it. I just can’t. It’s only a matter of few years, five, ten at the utmost, and then you’ll age, noticing that I don’t, and you’ll hate me for that and I’ll have to hide not only from the world, but from you, too,” the brunet explains.

 

“I could never hate you!” the blond shouts.

 

“Not now, but, believe me, you will. Time changes everything,” Matt retorts.

 

“But…”

 

“Hush, baby. You know that I’m just telling the truth. However, there’s only a thing you can’t ask me.”

 

“What?” Dom is almost afraid to ask.

 

“Don’t ask me to see you dying. I could never take it. I’d kill myself before that!” the front man admits, as he stares at the drummer with his eyes made of sky, now darkened by a shadow of sadness.

 

“Shut up! You s-shouldn’t ever talk like this!” Dom pleads, with tears in his eyes made of storm clouds.

 

“It’s your choice. But before I leave you alone, there’s something you should listen to,” Matt informs him, caressing the edge of the piano. “If there’s something that I can do damn well, it’s to say things through a song. Well, this song will probably end up in the Meyer’s clutches; she’s nagging the hell out of me, trying to persuade me to write a song for her bloody, fucking, stupid, pseudo-vampires, all shining and sparkling!”

 

“Hey!” Dom reproaches him, forgetting for an instant the depth of that situation.

 

“Sorry, I know that you like that saga,” Matt recalls. “Someone else will say that I wrote this song after my long relationship with Gaia and for convenience I’ll say so in the interviews, but the truth is that I wrote this song for you, just and only for you and it’s not a song. It’s a message,” Matt murmurs, as he makes his fingers skim the keyboard, creating a prelude.

 

“Did you write a song for me?” the blond asks in awe, and then he pauses. “Another one?” he smiles.

 

“Yeah, as I’ve already told you, Dominic, I guess that what happened during these last weeks is just because of our paranoia and our subconscious. Probably is the fear of hurting each other, but this is typical of every human relationship, don’t you think so? Baby, I’m sure that our love is stronger than paranoia; our love is stronger than fears. Our love is forever,” the singer smiles, and then he presses the keys of the piano, starting a sort of solemn melody.

 

_ I was searching, you were on a mission  
Then our hearts combined like a neutron star collision _

 

As Matt sings in a deep voice, capable of making the chords of every soul vibrate, Dom has a sort of flashback of his whole life, when, more than fifteen years ago at the Den, he met Matthew for the very first time. A look, a smile and some quick conversation were enough to make the blond feel a sort of connection with that odd, skinny, eccentric guy who had a gentle smile and a gift of the gab, while something told him that he would have had a special place in his life.

 

Dom couldn’t even begin to imagine how special that place would be.

 

And Dom couldn’t even begin to imagine that the feeling was mutual.

 

  __I have nothing left to lose  
You took your time to choose  
Then we told each other with no trace of fear that  
  
Our love would be forever  
And if we die, we die together  
Lie, I said never  
Cause our love would be forever

 

As Matt increases his voice in the chorus, reaching a tenor’s level, Dom remembers when Matt came back to him, soaked in the rain, when they told each other how they felt, without any fear. 

 

And then he remembers when he accepted Matt, once again, despite the truth, despite knowing what he has become.

 

Their love overtook several tests. Probably they’ll face even this obstacle, but the drummer is not so sure.

 

__ The world is broken, halos fail to glisten  
We try to make a difference but no one wants to listen  
Hail the preachers, fake and proud  
Their doctrines will be cloud  
Then they'll dissipate like snowflakes in an ocean 

 

Increasing the rhythm, Matthew is telling Dom that there’s nothing that they can’t face if they are together. Starting with their friends, the people around, their families, their fans, to arrive to the whole world, with its fake bourgeois respectability, its dirt cheap moralism, its religions and its endless hypocrisy.

 

Who can be so presumptuous to establish what is right and what is wrong?

 

__ Love is forever and we'll die  
We'll die together  
Lie, I said never  
Cause our love, could be forever 

 

That promise of eternity echoes in Dominic’s ears, as Matt plays the piano intensely, until he reaches the last bridge.

 

Matthew stares Dominic in his eyes for all the rest of the song.

 

__Now I've got nothing left to lose  
You take your time to choose  
I can tell you now without a trace of fear  
  
That my love will be forever  
And we’ll die, we'll die together  
Lie, I will never  
Cause our love will be forever

 

As Matt ends the song, playing a very melancholic outro, Dom registers the last sentences as a proper ultimatum, but he closes his eyes to enjoy better the end of that amazing song.

 

When even the last note fades away, he opens his eyes again, but Matt is nowhere to be found, as a warm breeze blows from the now open window.

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope, I don’t believe at all that Matt wrote ‘Neutron Stars Collision’ in order to persuade Dom to become a vampire like him, LOL! But this song (which I really LOVE) was just perfect for all the storyline … by the way, this whole story was inspired just by that song! ^^
> 
> I know, it’s very angsty… but… just trust me okay??
> 
> hope you liked this part


	20. XVI I: I belong to you alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew and Dominic muse about what happened and what could happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is from ‘I belong to you ‘ my Muse

“Matthew! Matthew! Maaatt!” Dominic rushes towards the open window, leaning from it and calling out his lover’s name, but it’s useless and it gets no answer.

Upset, Dominic goes back to the piano, sitting on the bench.

It’s still warm and there’s still Matthew’s aroma in the air.

Dominic skims the keys of the piano with his fingers, as his mind drifts back to the song that Matthew played for him; when he opened his un-beating heart to his mate.

And then, the drummer thinks about a few hours before, when right after the show Matthew had dragged the blond away with him, far from anyone.

They had joked about it and giggled, their adrenalin high, just like two teenagers who have just made or are about to make a prank and don’t want to be found.

Those were the few moments of carefree happiness and harmony between them.

“ _Things weren’t supposed to go like this. Just a few months ago, Matthew and I couldn’t wait for the tour break, in order to go back home and spend a lot of time together. We had so many plans… and now everything is fucked up!_ “ he muses, resting his chin between his hands.

_“What the fuck am I complaining about? I’ve done nothing but obsessing Matt with the fact that I needed time and he has just given me that; so I have to use it in the best way ever, estimating accurately the pro and the cons, just like I do every time I’m not sure if to buy or not some stuff… the only difference is that this time I’m purchasing *my life*!”_ he ponders, 

For just and only one moment, Dom wishes that Matt could bring him in his world without even asking his permission; because he doesn’t know if he will ever have the guts to make such a choice.

All of the sudden, the lyrics of Matt’s song echo in his mind.

  
\- ‘ _Now I've got nothing left to lose / You take your time to choose ‘ –_

“I’ll do, Matt. I swear it with all my heart!” he raises his hand, staring at an indefinite spot on the ceiling.

 

Dominic can’t even begin to imagine how close Matthew still is.

As a matter of fact, the brunet is on the roof of the Foro Sol and he perfectly heard Dominic as he called him, but forced himself to resist, just like a brave Ulysses who doesn’t want to be charmed by the beautiful mermaid’s singing.

 

_“Although to compare Dominic to a singing mermaid is not very proper!”_ he chuckles a little, after that thought; which is the only fanny instant in such a hard situation.

Truth is that if Matt had come back when Dom called him, he wouldn’t have been able to leave anymore; but Matthew deep inside knows that he’s doing the right thing, no matter how hard it is.

Protected by the darkness, now his faithful friend and precious accomplice, Matt jumps from one roof to the other, avoiding every sort of meeting with any human.

In a few seconds, he manages to get far from the Foro Sol and the blond temptation that is inside there.

As he takes that not so ordinary walk, a million of thoughts  invade his mind, reviving all the most important phases of his whole life.

Starting with the very first year with Dom, when he was sure that to accept that he felt in a certain way towards a boy was the hardest thing to do.

He recalls the next years, when success came and Muse became someone to the endless world of music, but his main goal was being able to hide all the strong feelings that he had towards his best friend not only from the world, but from said best friend, too; and he was sure that was the hardest thing to do.

Then he realised that he couldn’t go on like that and, but he didn’t find the courage to tell Dominic about his real feelings towards him, because he was sure that that was the hardest thing to do.

When finally the truth had surfaced and he had found out that Dominic, his beloved Dominic felt the same way about him, he was incredibly happy, but there was a supernatural truth to confess to the blond and the vampire was afraid that would have been the hardest thing to do.

But now, as tears wet his pale visage, Matthew had the absolute certainty that to let Dom go and give him his freedom even if this should mean to disappear from his best friend’s world, is the hardest thing to do ever.

Now everything is up to Dominic and Matthew can’t do nothing but wait and wish with all his un-beating heart not to lose the love of his life and un-life.

Out of the blue, the vampire jump down from the building he’s walking on, landing in the nearby of the station.

The airport is at the opposite side of the town, but he doesn’t want to call a taxi; he doesn’t want any kind of contact with any kind of human, at least not now.

That’s the closest and fastest public transport at his disposal that can take the vampire away from there, n matter where.

That’s why Matthew doesn’t think twice and buy a ticket to the first available destination at an electronic machine and wait for the train, swearing to himself that he’s going to hypnotize every person who dares recognize him and approach him, because right now he just needs to be left on his own.

************** (In the meantime)

After deciding that it’s useless to to remain at the Foro Sol, because Matthew wouldn’t ever come back, Dominic has returned at the hotel , but the first thing he does is to go to Matthew’s room, or rather the room that used to be Matthew’s.

He doesn’t need to use the copy of the key, because he finds the door open, but the room is utterly empty and the bed is undone.

There’s no trace of Matthew, but one, because sitting on his bed, Dom notices on the night table that there’s an ashtray with the rest of at least ten cigarettes and an empty wrinkled packet near it.

The drummer knows very well that his best friend rarely smokes and that’s a clear sign of the vampire nervousness, as he pondered his terrible, but wise and necessary decision.

_“At least this can’t surely kill him!”_ Dom muses with a sad smile, as he stares at the ashtray.

He decides to remain in that room for that night, so he takes off his shoes and coat and lies down on the mattress, resting his head on the pillow.

He was wrong. There’s another trace of Matthew’s because that pillow still has his scent.

He inhales it deeply and, hugging the pillow and closing his eyes, without minding at the warm tears that are falling from them.

/

Matthew jumps off the train, when it stops to a place that he seems to appreciate a lot, probably because it’s near a beach that he managed to see from the window.

It’s still early sunrise when the vampire arrives to the beach, taking a walk on the tender sand, near the coast.

The beach reminds Matt to the last night in Sidney, when he wanted to make Dominic like him, without even stopping for a moment to think about the consequences.

He sits on the sand, taking the pendant in his hands and parting it in two, observing with a sad smile the white part.

_“The main problem is solved and Do doesn’t even know!”_ he sighs, holding in his fist that piece of magic fabric, as he dreams about the day he’ll make Dominic wear it … if that day will ever come.

Matt puts the two parts back together with another sigh.

He glances at a rock from afar, high and very difficult to reach, at least for a human.

_“That’s the perfect place where I can stay alone with my thoughts, undisturbed.”_ the singer decides, getting up and going there with a few jumps.

_“I love my super-powers more and more, day by day, and I’m sure that even my Dom would.”_ he smiles at the thought , picturing in his mind and hyper-excited Dominic who tests every new and astonishing thing that he can do.

And then he thinks about the opposite perspective, which is Dominic refusing all that supernatural stuff, refusing Matt, refusing their future together.

Just like a conditioned reflex, the vampire holds the pendant in his hands again, caressing it, but this time with a different intention, as he observes the warm rays of sun hitting his face and his body so gently.

_“It would be so easy and so fast, all I would have to do is to take off my pendant, letting Rachel and Michael know where they can find it before, and then let the sun doing the bloody rest!”_ he ponders, grieving, before his mobile starts to ring, almost as if it wanted to take the brunet’s mind off those bad thoughts.

Matt draws the mobile out from his pocket and stares at the display: it’s an unknown number.

“Hallo?” the vampire says.

Silence from the other hand, but the listener doesn’t hang up.

“It’s you, Dom, isn’t it?” Matt smiles, but further silence is the only answer he receives.

“I know it’s you, baby, and no matter what your final decision is, I will always love you!” the singer whispers, before hanging up, feeling a lot better.

***** (In the meantime)

“Me, too, Matthew, me, too.” Dominic murmurs, as he puts his mobile back in his pocket and wait for the gate of his flight.

_“At least I heard his voice again.”_ the blond sighs.

He took the first available flight to London, because the drummer likes leaving at early morning, when there are just few people around who are not fully awake to recognize him.

Because right now Dominic doesn’t want anyone around him.

With another sigh, Dominic draws out from his trolley a notebook and a pen, tracing a virtual line on the middle of a white page, deciding that maybe to make a list of the pro and the cons is something that maybe can help him, at least a little bit.

/

Without even realising that, as he held his mobile in his head, hoping to hear it ringing again to listen to Dominic’s voice this time; Matthew has fallen asleep on the rock. After all that he has been through, 

 he really needs some rest.

It’s sunset and he’s still sleeping, when his mobile starts to vibrate again, because of an incoming call.

Matthew jolts awake immediately and answers without even looking at the display.

 

“Dom?” he asks with all the hope that he can muster in his voice.

 

“Nope, puppy, I’m sorry. It’s just me.” Rachel answers from the other hand.

 

“Since I heard you calling Dom’s name, it means that he’s not with you now, right?” she figures out.

“Right.” Matt sighs.

 

“Matthew, did something happen?” Rachel asks him, worried.

 

“Yes… “ Matt says laboriously, as tears seem to want to fall from his eyes once again.

 

“Michael was right, then.” she mutters.

 

“What?” the younger vampire blinks.

“I mean, he sensed that something wasn’t right with you, that’s why I’m calling you now.” she justifies. “C’mon, sugar, tell me everything!”

 

/

 

“So now everything is up to Dominic!” Matt ends his tale.

“You did the right thing.” Rachel smiles.

“I know, but the waiting is killing me.” Matt snorts.

“But it’s only a day so far!” 

“Oh, c’mon! It’s one of the first things that you and Michael taught to me: time is relative to vampires; it’s only a day, but it seems like a year to me!” the singer justifies.

“You’re right.” the vampiress admits.

“Rachel, do you know if nightmare stuff is normal when you’re about to be turned or turn someone and you know it?” Matt asks.

“Actually, I can’t give you an answer, you should ask Michael, he has more experience, so… “

“BY the way, where’s Michael? And where are you?”

“We’re in Italy, we’ve started out trip a couple of weeks ago. First the romantic Venice, then the relaxing Tuscany, now.. the immortal Rome. I guess I’ve fallen in love with this town.” Rachel sighs.

“Yep, Rome is cool. Anyway, if you come back in Italy in June, we’re going to play in Milan, it will be an epic show. You and Michael are my guests!” Matt announces.

“Thank you, sugar, we’ll surely won’t miss it!” Rachel grins thrilled.

“So, where’s Michael now?”

“He’s hunting with an old friend of his who he met here, actually he’s the one who gave us the house. We’re going to stay here, at least a month. Did I already say that I’m on love with this town?” the girl giggles.

“So why are you not with him?”

“Well, you know, old pals, old memories to recall together, it’s such personal stuff and I want them to be on their own.” she explains. “Plus, I’ve become addicted to Italian fictions, although I don’t understand their language!” she adds, making Matt laugh.

“I know, they’re very addictive!”

They talk for another while, until Matt hangs up and Rachel waits for Michael.

“Oh, god! I hadn’t this fun for ages!” her Sire commences, coming back, still chuckling.

The only answer he receives is a very insulted Rachel who stares at him glacially.

“I meant without you, honey!” the older vampire rushes to point out.

“Well, fun or not, I guess we’ll have to make a short journey. We’re leaving tomorrow.” Rachel informs him.

“Where are we headed?” Michael asks her, without even complaining.

“London.”

 

/

There’s nothing more regenerating than sleeping in your own bed, at home, and Dominic knows that very well.

After something like fifteen hours of sleep, right after coming back to London, the drummer awakes, ready to face the new day.

_“A day without my Matt, a long series of days without him.”_ he grieves a little bit, staring at the empty and intact part of the king size bed.

When he finishes his shower, he hears the phone ringing, but doesn’t mind at that, letting the answering machine do its job.

\- Hi, NIkky, I know you’re back home for the break from the tour. Why don’t you and Matt come here for lunch? I won’t accept ‘no’ as answer. See you later, guys. Bye. –

_“Funny, I was about to ask her if she could come to me. I really need to talk with someone._ “ Dominic ponders, as he deletes the message.

/

“Dom!” Emma cheers when she opens the door, hugging her brother tight, and then she takes a look around.

“Where’s Matt? Is he parking the car?” she asks him.

“That’s the point. There’s no Matt.” Dom reveals, sighing heavily.

“Hey. Did you two have a fight?” Emma interrogates her brother, concerned.

“Not exactly, but we have some trouble.” he grumbles.

“Come in and tell me everything. We’re going to have a long chat!” she invites him.

“Did Matt betray you?” Emma asks him, as she controls the chicken in the oven.

“Of course he didn’t. He still loves me and I still love him, but day by day we realised how different we are and our relationship needs important changes.” Dominic explains, telling her nothing but the truth.

“Okay, I got it!” his sister cuts him off.

 

“What?” Dom blinks.

 

“You’re about to take an important decision that could take you far away from me.” she figures out.

 

“Geez, it’s almost as if you could read my mind!” Dominic comments astonished.

 

“Matt has asked you to move with him to the States, he has got a thing for America!” Emma goes on.

 

“Huh? Move away? Yeah, sort of!” he grumbles.

 

_“After all, Matt wants me to move from the world of living to the world of the un-deads_!” he muses.

 

“Well, Emma, it’s not that simple, because it’s not only a matter of moving away. Matt changed a lot and wants me to change in the same way, because it’s the only way for us to remain together!” he tries to explain, without revealing much.

 

“Did Matt change his eating habits?” Emma interrogates her brother.

 

“Dammit. yep, he did!” Dom nods dumbfounded.

 

“And he’s in a good shape, with a better mood, more agile … sort of reborn?” she goes on with her inquisition.

 

Dom stares at his big sister kind of scared, as he starts to wonder if maybe the Howards descend for the VanHelsings or something like that.

 

“Emma, are you really saying  that you truly believe that Matt has become a … “ he trails, very cautiously.

 

“A vegan? Sure!” she anticipates him.

 

“A what?” Dom jolts, thanking his lucky star for not ending his previous sentence.

 

“It must be that.  Matt must have read somewhere how to become a vegan and decided to change, feeling a lot of positive effects and disliking his previous habits. But now he wants more, he wants you to become like him, to share with him his ideals, his priorities, his habits. Am I right?”

 

_“Well, not a vegan, a vampire. After all, it begins with ‘V’ as well and yeah, it involves a great change in your eating habits!”_ he ponders.

 

“Well, it has some analogies with what happened. The point is that I’m afraid that if I accept to change for him, I won’t be the same person anymore. This could tear us apart, Emma, and I don’t want that!”

“As long as you don’t touch my collection of Barbie’s, you and I will be great friends!” she states with a giggle.

 

“No, I can’t believe it. You still have that bloody collection!” he chuckles.

 

“Of course I have it and I’m bloody fond of it!” she nods.

 

“However, little brother, it’s more than normal to be scared when a relationship steps up, it’s a jump in the dark for anyone. You can’t know what will happen, no one can. The question is do you love Matthew?”

 

“More than everything, but this is the point: what there’s between Matthew and me is just too special and beautiful and I’m afraid to spoil it. “ Dom reveals, scratching his neck.

 

“Listen, Dom; years ago I received a very beautiful crystal vase, so beautiful that I didn’t want to expose it with the other vases. So I kept it in the closet of my bedroom, on the bottom. Guess what? A couple of years ago, the shelf on my closet fell down, hitting the vase and breaking it in thousands pieces! And the most ironic part is that if I has used that vase, instead of being afraid to ruin it, it would have still been intact! So, Dom, can’t you get what I’m trying to say?” Emma asks him.

 

“Next time buy better  a shelf?” Dom jokes.

 

“Dom!” she warns him, snorting.

 

“Just joking.  I perfectly got the moral of your little story. Thank you, Emma. Talking with you helped me a lot!” he hugs her, before sitting at the table, ready to enjoy the lunch.

 

Now that he has finally gotten rid of that load, Dominic seems to have found his appetite.

 

“Glad to be helpful sometimes!” she smiles at him.

 

/

 

Talking with his beloved sister has been helpful, but it’s not enough to make Dom take that oh so important decision.

After all, Emma doesn’t even know the whole truth.

 

Since he can’t take a decision yet, at night Dominic at least try to get some rest, but it’s not possible, because the morning after, at nine o’clock, someone knocks at his door.

 

“Dammit! Who the hell can it be?”  Dominic wonders out loud, still sleepy, as he takes a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, quickly.

 

When he opens the door, he finds a delivery guy with something for him. He signs the reception sheet and rewards the guy with a generous tip and then he drags, very laboriously, that heavy, packaged, big box, towards his living room.

 

At first, he thinks it’s a gift from some fans, it wouldn’t be the first time, after all; but once he opens the box he jolts.

 

It’s Matthew’s trolley  and there’s a letter on it.

 

Dominic reads it.

 

_ ‘Dear my love, _

_ Right now I sent home only my stuff. It’s up to you to decide if I can come back to you as well. Take your time and listen to your heart, I’m sure that he has the right answer, for both of us. _

_ With endless love. Forever yours. _

_ Matthew. _

_ p.s. Lots of kisses and a huge hickey. Well, as long as it’s virtual, I can’t do any damage! ‘ _

 

Dom reads the last line chuckling, also because Matthew drew a funny, fanged smiley face that winks at him.

 

Dominic opens his trolley and finds what he was looking for:  one of the T-shirts Matt wore during one of the last, serene nights that they have spent together.

 

“Just what I needed to sleep with!” he muses with a weak smile, grabbing it and coming back to his bedroom.

 

/

 

Maybe thanks to the time that he’s spending on his own, or after the chat with his sister, or because he’s holding that T-shirt tight to his heart, Dominic manages to sleep serenely, without any terrifying nightmare.

 

That’s why he feels in such a good mood when he gets up in the early afternoon, deciding to do nothing too tiring.

 

While he watches the TV absented, he glances at one of the guitars that Matt brought to his house.

 

It’s an acoustic one, black and silver, which is resting against the wall, in the living room, and seems to beg the drummer for attention.

 

He turns the TV off and walks towards the guitar, grabbing it and sitting back on the sofa.

 

He hardly can recall the last time that he played a guitar, because drums has always been his greatest love, but there was a time when he could play even that instrument kind of good, so good that a special someone had asked the blond to give him lessons.

 

Dom feels a huge desire to try and play it, but knows very well that Matt’s guitars are off-limits.

 

“ _But Matthew is not here!”_   he smirks.

 

At the beginning, Dom has some difficulty to remember the basic stuff, but it’s only a matter of few exercises and then the drummer regain some confidence with the guitar again, playing the chords and pressing the frets at the right spot.

 

And melodies after melodies, song after song , Muse’s songs, too; Dominic doesn’t even seem to notice that time goes on, until it’s sunset.

He’s so absorbed playing the umpteenth song, ‘Bliss’, for the record, that he doesn’t even hear someone ringing at his bell, but when the ring becomes longer and more insistent, the blond jolts surprised, placing the guitar back to the wall and walking towards the door.

 

_“I just hope it’s not some fans. I’m not in the mood for it.”_ he muses, before opening the door.

 

He finds himself face to face with a tall man, around thirty years old, with brown hair and piercing black eyes, black as night. In a word, he’s awesome.

 

“Although technically I don’t need any invitation, can I come in?” the foreign guy asks him, with a Spanish accent, showing a sly smile.

 

(End I) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, evil-cliff *laughs evilly* . Oh, c’mon, you realized who it is, didn’t you? :P
> 
> A little note: Dominic who plays guitar is a kink of mine. I know that Dom is left handed and Matt is not… but maybe they both can be ambidextrous … close an eye :P
> 
> Hope you liked it.


	21. XVI II: I belong to you alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic finds the answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the title is taken from ‘I belong to you’ lyrics, by Muse.

Realization hits Dominic, like a flash during a storm.

“You’re Michael!” he jolts. “How did you find me?”

“Well, it was easier than stealing candies from a baby … not that I do such stuff, of course! The point is that you have Matthew’s smell all around you.” the vampire explains, making the drummer blush.

“Or maybe it’s because Matthew happened to mention a couple of times where you live!” a female voice adds, appearing from the shadow.

“You’re… that girl! That night… you took Matt away.” Dom recognizes her.

“Yep, puppy, that’s me. My name is Rachel, anyway!” the vampiress points out. “How can it be that you remembered Michael’s name, but not mine?” she asks, a little insulted.

“Well, you know, one day I found his name on a sheet of paper, inside a pocket of one of Matthew’s jackets, that’s why I remember it so well!” Dom justifies.

“Were you jealous?” Rachel giggles.

“Of course, I was jealous as hell, just like I was jealous of you when you took Matt away from me … it’s just that I didn’t know your name back then!” he confesses.

“Actually, I wished that I had kept that phone number, because I wanted to look for you, Michael. I need some answers.” the drummer reveals, inviting the vampires in his house.

“Honey, why did you have to spoil everything? The smell thing was so cool!” Michael complains.

“But the ‘we perfectly know where you live’ thing was so more practical!” the girl shrugs, amusing Dom, although he’s overwhelmed by a soft nostalgia.

“Honey. That’s the way I used to call Matt.” he sighs, as they sit comfortably on the sofa.

Well, maybe Dom is not so comfortable, while he hugs his legs, trembling a little, crouching as closer as he can to the corner of the sofa.

“C’mon, puppy, be quiet, Michael and I are not going to harm you.” Rachel calms him down with sugary voice.

“Just please … do not try to hypnotize me. Matthew can’t, but he told me that you could.” he states nervously, as he avoids looking at them.

“We won’t do anything. Matthew would kill us if we dared to, and, trust me; it’s not a metaphoric language!” Michael states.

“So feel free to look at us as much as you please!” Rachel smiles at him and the blond turns towards his supernatural guests.

“You said that you were full of questions, shoot it!” the older vampire incites him.

“Well, first of all, why? Why did you take my … why did you take Matthew?” he finds the courage to ask.

“Did you mean why didn’t we let him free to go on walking on the path of self-destruction?” Michael growls at him, bothered.

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to piss y-you off!” Dom yelps, hiding himself behind a cushion.

“Oh please, puppy, don’t mind at my Sire, he has such a bad temper!” Rachel giggles, leaning on to caress Dom’s hair.

“What he was trying to say is… honestly, Dominic, did you think that if nothing had happened and Matthew had gone on with his bad, horrible habits, through all these months, right now he’d be still alive?” she asks him.

Dom recalls the days when Matthew was depressed, drunk as hell, tired, always in a bad mood and in a bad shape, attempting to kill a part of himself, day by day, while Dom stared at that horrible show impotently.

“Nope, he wouldn’t. Things were getting worse and worse and neither of us had the courage to pull him off that fucking shit.” he sighs. “So I guess that, after all, I should thank you for that.” he murmurs.

“Yep, you should!” Michael snaps.

“Now I’m going to ask you a question: saving for his new but necessary food habits… has Matthew changed so much?” Rachel asks him.

“Nope. He’s still the same, but with a supernatural powers package included!” he admits, giggling a little.

“Truth is that, although I accept him, his un-life and stuff like that…”

“You’re afraid of following him.” Michael anticipates him.

“Yeah.” the human admits, passing a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if Matt told you about the nightmares.”

“Yep, he did.” Michael nods. “And I guess that I know what happened. Well, at least I can suppose that, since it’s something that it’s not related to the vampire stuff.”

“Really?” Dom asks intrigued.

“You know, when it happened to me, it’s not that I had the time or the change to decide, my Sire just turned me, without asking.” Michael reveals.

“About me, I wasn’t happy with my life and, save my sister, I had no one left. Did Matthew tell you about my sister?” Rachel asks him.

“Yep, he hinted something.” the blond grumbles.

“Good. Well, the point is that, contrary to you I had nothing that kept me anchored to the living world. You still have your dearest ones, your family and your friends. Plus, there are your fans, the music and a lot of other stuff. And your biggest fear is to lose all this.” Rachel speaks for him.

“My biggest fear is to lose Matt.” Dom states firmly.

“Just like I had said!” Michael sticks his tongue out at his Childe.

“In my nightmares, in every fucking nightmare of mine, I turn against Matt and I kill him at the end. So now explain me this!”

“It’s only your paranoia that makes you have such bad dreams, just like Matthew had his own bad dreams. It’s because he’s still so human, after all.” Michael explains.

“Oh. And… how does it feel to be a vampire? Matthew says that it’s so cool, but I need a little more expert opinion.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t help you with his, puppy. You just have to try to find it out.” Rachel winks at him.

“Anyway, blondie, we didn’t take Matthew. It’s impossible to take someone who already belongs to someone else.” Michael smiles at him and Dom blushes once again.

“And I belong to Matthew alone; this is something that goes beyond friendship and love, life and death … or un-life. It’s a sort of alchemy, a connection, something I’m trapped in, but I don’t even think about running away from it.” Dom declares.

“Well, Dom, you asked me why I turned Matt, but you didn’t ask me why Matt accepted. Because he had a choice, he would have just died, refusing my offer.” Michael informs him.

“Well, actually we’ve never talked about it and I didn’t even know that he had this choice. Well, I can’t help being glad that he didn’t choose to die, it’s something that would have killed me as well.” Dom reveals with teary eyes.

“Do you know why he took that decision? I’ll tell you why. After all, back to that night he was still human and I could read his mind like an open book. Well, Matt decided that he couldn’t die, not like that, at least, because first he had to see you again, at least one more time.” the older vampire confesses.

Dom gasps in surprise.

“Yeah, that was before he decided that he could do so much more than simply seeing you!” Rachel giggles, before getting up, while her Sire mirrors her actions.

“I guess we’re done here, also because I’m starving!” she adds, as Michael confines himself just to nodding.

“Well, I guess you should go then. You know, I’d keep company to you, but the only vampire who I like watching as he’s feeding is Matt!” the drummer reveals.

“We know it!”  Michael smirks, greeting Dom with a manly handshaking.

“Do you want to know a secret? Hunting with your partner is one of the most powerful aphrodisiac ever!” Rachel winks at Dom, as she hugs Michael tight.

“Take your time, Dominic. I’m sure you’ll make up your mind wisely and your heart, too.” the vampiress smiles at him, before leaving with her eternal mate.

 

“Hey, honey, do you think that we should have told him that thing?” Rachel wonders as they disappear in the dark.

“It’s not necessary. It would just scare him even more, but if Dom decides to become a vampire it’s a necessary phase to cross, for them both.” Michael states.

“I just want them to be happy as we are!” she comments, kissing him deeply.

“They will, my love. They will.” he strikes back against her lips.

/

It’s been a week since Matthew’s Sire and his Queen paid a visit to him, and Dom is still unsure about what to do. He keeps thinking about what they said and what Emma said, but it’s almost as if there was still a missing piece.

Establishing that he can’t make up his mind inside a house where every corner reminds him of the precious and passionate moments that he shared with Matthew, Dominic packs his stuff and allows himself a little journey to a place that has something special inside.

Once he arrives, as weird it seems to him to stay in a room of a hotel in a place that has been his home for tons of years, Dominic quickly unpacks his things. He has also brought a photo album with himself, to dive inside a sea of memories, but the drummer doesn’t pay attention of it, putting it on the night table and leaving the room and taking a walk around his beloved Teignmouth.

/

Matthew left Mexico after not even a week. After all, he was sick of being surrounded by people who very hard and very rarely understand his language.

This can make things very hard for a vampire when he tries to feed, but very patiently, shrewdly and gesticulating a lot, Matthew has always managed to get his goal, although ‘ _No entiendo_ ‘ is a sentence that he has heard so many times that he could name their next album like that.

Now he has been I Ireland since three days, maybe to discover a part of his origins.

In that country is much easier to find some preys, but it remains hard to keep his mind off his main thought.

\- _It’s been nine days and still no news from Dominic. I don’t even know if this is a good sign or not. And to think that I have to wait until the end of the break. I never missed touring so damn much_!- he muses as he wanders through the main streets of Dublin, looking for his dinner.

He doesn’t have to wait for long.

“Oh, God! Matt Bellamy!” a shrieking, female voice exclaims.

Turning his back, he sees a blonde girl, with hazel eyes, petite but with the right curves, around twenty –two years old.

“Yep, it’s me, lady, but let’s not make it a public affair!” he winks at her.

\- _Dinner is served!_ – he smiles at himself.

 

“Can I have an autograph?” the girl asks politely, as she’s already immortalizing him with her i-Phone

“Why should you get content only with an autograph when you could have so much more?” he smiles at her with his sexiest tone. “Do you want to take a walk with me? You know, I don’t know anyone here and I need some company tonight.” he adds, playing perfectly the part of the tourist who feels lost.

And, as always, it works brilliantly.

“Sure, don’t worry. I know this town as the back of my hand. I’ll show you the best places. Let’s go!” she grins at him, linking arms with him.

“No doubt about the wonderful places, sweetie, but I definitely prefer that ally.” he murmurs.

“Geez, you go straight to the point, don’t you? Well, I like it. Let’s go!” she strikes back, thrilled, following him there.

Matt congratulates with himself.

\- _Irish girls seem to be much more lucid than the English or American girls. They don’t waste time screaming or doing stupid stuff!_ – he ponders. – _Well, this means less work for me to do_!-

Matthew takes his first victim of the night to the alley, as his mind is still obsessed by one thought only.

“Would you like to stay with me forever?” he asks her, unbuttoning her jacket.

“Oh god, yes!” she squeals in delight, but Matthew doesn’t even hear her.

“Wouldn’t you like to keep your beauty unaltered in time, protected from every sickness?” the vampire goes on, unbuttoning her shirt.

“What… what are you blathering about?” the girl frowns, but Matthew pushes her against the wall.

“Wouldn’t you like to share the magic appeal of the night, without renouncing to the daylight for that?” the singer goes on, as he looks for his favorite spot on her neck.

“Matthew... although I don’t know what you mean, I would like to do everything with you!” she smiles at him.

“Shut up, I’m not talking about you!” he hisses.

“If for you it’s so easy to say ‘yes’, why does it have to be so difficult for him?” he mutters out loud.

“Who are you talking about? What are you talking about? Whatever, I don’t mind!” the girl strikes back, electrified. “Oh, Matthew, I knew that it would have happened. It’s a dream that comes true. If only my friends could see me now! You’ve fallen in love with me, it’s love at first sight, but I’ve been loving you for ages!” she exults, ready to wrap her arms around his neck, but he backs off promptly and not only thanks to his supernatural reflexes.

“What?! Wait, no… I already told you that wasn’t talking with you, it was just… “ Matt tries to cut her off, but she doesn’t even listen to him.

“If only those stupid girls could see me now. You know, they were all convinced that you and that hateful, damn blondie who is always stuck to you like a stupid magnet were in love with each other! I mean, ok, he’s so plainly gay that it disgusts me, but not you! You know what? My stupid friends do nothing but writing stories where you and he are together, as lovers!” she informs him.

Matthew already can’t stand that girl a minute more, and for once it’s not because of his demon.

“Really?” he asks her, intrigues by the last part, as he takes a satisfied look around.

\- _As isolated as a bloody desert!_ –

“Yes! Aren’t you shocked and horrified? But let’s not talk about it, let’s talk about us.” she says, grabbing his hands, without minding at the fact that they are very cold.

“I know I’m not the first one to say it but I’m  deeply in love with your eyes. And you, Matt? Which is the part  of me that you prefer?” she meows.

The vampire’s patience is definitely running out. He frees his hands from her grip, kind of rudely and stares icily at her.

“Actually… your veins!” he sneers, licking his lips in anticipation.

“W-what?” she looks at him, deeply confused.

“You heard me. About my eyes … do you think that they’re beautiful even _now_?” he asks her, as they flash from their awesome sapphire blue to an unnatural, electric blue, almost white.

She’s going to scream, panic-stricken, but he anticipates her, tapping her mouth with his hand, insensible even at the sight of her terrified tears.

“Look at me.” he sooths her, showing her his dark blue spirals, and she instantly calms down.

“Now I’m going to feed from you and you will let me do that. You know, usually I’m very gentle with my victims, even pleasant, but you won’t get the same treatment; I can’t be gentle with whoever insults my boyfriend!” he goes on and she jolts in surprise hearing that news.

“Yeah, since you will forget everything, I can tell you. Guess what? Your friends are right. I love Dom like I’ve never love and I’ll never love anyone else.” he reveals. “Now get ready, this is going to hurt … _just a little bit_!” he sneers, discovering his razor-sharp canines, delighted when he hears her yelping scared against his hand.

“Just one thing again, before we start: where can I find those stories?”

/

After feeding and erasing every suspicious trace, Matt leaves the girls, passed out, on the street and goes finding his next victim of the night.

Actually, he fed from her more than usual on purpose, sure that someone will eventually help her, but without giving a real damn to that.

\- _She insulted my Dom, she just deserved!_ – he justifies with himself-

\- _Anyway, I can’t remain here anymore, if I can’t come back home to him, in London, at least I can go to a place that, at the very end, will always be home!_ – he takes his decision.

/

Matthew doesn’t waste any time and after completing his dinner, he catches the first flight to London and then from London he arrives to Teignmouth at half morning.

Contrary to Dom, he can’t get content with a hotel; he needs something more and knows very well how to get it.

When he arrived, he was just too busy with his own stuff to notice that, but when he talks a walk in the afternoon it takes Matt only a sniff in the air to realize that.

\- _Dominic is here!_ – he rejoices in his mind.

His main goal becomes to find the gorgeous blond, but no matter how hard he tries, he miserably fails and goes back to his temporary house kind of upset.

\- And yet I’m sure that he’s here. My senses can’t be fooled, but I didn’t see him anywhere. I’m going to try harder this night! – he decides.

* (In the meantime)

Truth is that Matthew didn’t see Dominic around anywhere, because of the simple reason that for that day Dom chose to remain in his room.

\- _I’ve been here for more than a week, but it’s useless, I still don’t know what to do , probably I’ve not made up my mind hard enough …_ \- the awesome drummer ponders, as his eyes fall on the photo album on the night table.

He takes it and starts to skim through the pages, chuckling or sighing according to which picture of Matt and him together he’s staring at.

As he turns the pages, something falls from the end of the album.

He smiles softened when he realizes that it’s the Narcissus that Matthew has brought to him when he came back from the States.

Dom has exsiccated that flower in the pages of that album and he didn’t even remember it.

He caresses delicately the petals of that beautiful flower, recalling how happily his heart had sung when Matthew had confessed his true feelings towards him, and then he skims his lips with the petals, just like Matt had previously done with him.

\- _I’ve wanted Matthew for so long, I’ve had him for such a little time, few but precious, very precious months, the best months of my whole life …  and now I’ve got the chance to have Matthew forever. Can I really be so bloody stupid to refuse?_ -

All of the sudden, the blond starts to laugh, because to take that decision seems to him the easiest thing he has ever done.

/

At night, after feeding in the most discrete way possible, Matthew takes a walk around the Den and then to the beach.

It’s only early spring, so that town is not very touristic yet and there’s almost no one around, because the climate is not very gentle, so the singer can walk around freely.

He can’t believe it when, from afar, he finally sees Dom, sat on the coast as he stares thoughtfully at the horizon.

\- _I knew he was here_! – the vampire rejoices, approaching to his mate a little, still unsure if he should show up or not.

Out of the blue, his mobile starts to ring and he smiles when he looks at the display.

“Dominic!” he cheers, picking up that call, as he remains hidden from him.

“Hi, Matthew; well, I guess that it’s useless to wait until the end of the break. I’ve already taken my decision and I won’t change my mind.” the drummer informs his best friend.

“Really?” Matt asks for confirmation, agitated as his typical pessimism gets in the way.

He has waited so long for that moment that now that he’s almost terrified to find out the truth.

“Yep, but it’s definitely not something that I’m going to tell you on the phone!” the blond points out.

“I was sure that you would not.” the brunet murmurs, while he gets closer and closer to Dom, as silent as he can.

“I guess you should reach me here, in Teignmouth.” Dom goes on. “When do you think that you can be here?”

“Sooner than you can guess!” the brunet smiles and, as strange as it can be, although Dom is still on line with his best friend, it’s almost as if he wasn’t talking on the phone.

All of the sudden, Dom hears the typical noise of hanging up and stares puzzled at his mobile.

“What the fu… ?”

“Turn.” a very familiar voice whispers, leaning his chin on his shoulder.

Dominic almost screams, jolting and turning.

“Oh my God! Matt!”

Instinctively, the blond gets up and throws his arms around the guitarist’s neck, hugging him tight.

“Matthew… how exactly is fast your super-quickness?” he asks stunned, as he parts from him.

“Ahahah, no! Truth is that I was already here, I’ve arrived yesterday. You know, I always come back here when I need some quietness not to think about everything.”

“So did I, but because I needed quietness to concentrate on one thought only: you.” the drummer smiles at the pianist, while they walk together around the coast.

“You know, Dom, I’ve immediately felt that you were here, but I couldn’t find you.”

“I stay in a hotel room, actually a bed and breakfast!” the other reveals.

Matt bursts out laughing.

“You? Mr. Five Stars and Extra Luxury … in a bed and breakfast? No wonder I couldn’t find you, I would have never look in a place like that!” the vampire makes fun of his best friend.

“Hey! Deep concentration requests simplicity and minimal stuff!” the blond justifies, punching Matthew’s shoulder playfully.

“I missed that so much!” the brunet reveals.

“Me punching you?” Dom stares puzzled at him.

“Nope, you , ninny!” the singer giggles, ruffling his golden locks. “I meant the joking, the teasing, the acting dumb with you… our connection!” he clarifies.

“Well, I missed that, too, a lot.” Dom confesses, squeezing Matt’s hand.

“So can we resume the hugging part? I was enjoying that a lot!” the vampire murmurs and Dominic immediately pleases him, pleasing himself as well.

“You know what? I think that we can add the kissing to the hugging!” Dominic whispers at Matt’s ear, nibbling his lobe softly.

Matt parts from the blond, staring at him with sad eyes.

“Will it be our last kiss?” he asks him with broken voice and a tear that falls from one of the two limpid skies that lodged it.

Dominic does nothing but collect that tear with his finger, staring deeply at his mate, before showing a mischievous smirk, as a lustful light shine inside his two little storms with indefinite color.

“Well, kiss me as if it was!”

Just the time to say that and Matt smashes his lips against Dom’s, so impetuously that they both fall on the ground, rolling on the cold sand as their kiss grows more and more passionate.

Their fingers entwine, their breaths melt into each other, their tongues battle fiercely, the exposed parts of their skin rub against the other, and there’s no trace of nightmares or bad feelings, for once.

Maybe it’s because it’s the moment of the truth and nothing matters anymore.

After a long, long time, with their lips pleasantly aching, Matt and Dom part and get up, very satisfied.

“It’s time for your answer.” the pianist asserts.

“Let’s sit down.” Dom says and Matt obliges. “Don’t you also think that Teignmouth has never been so beautiful as it is tonight?” the blond murmurs, resting his head on the brunet’s shoulder, as they both stare at the immensity of the sea, surrounded by a rare starry sky with tons of lights of the houses that shine from afar.

“Yes, it’s beautiful, but I can’t be impartial, since every time you are with me every corner of the world becomes more beautiful.” Matt murmurs, kissing Dom’s temple.

“Adulator!” Dom giggles, pinching the singer’s hip affectionately.

“You know, Dommie, I can hear every fish swimming in the sea, every cloud moving in the sky and every grain of sand blown by the wind.” Matt goes on as he caresses Dom’s hair, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment better.

“And… will you teach me to listen to all these things as well?” Dominic whispers to him, his lips a few inches from the brunet’s.

Matthew immediately pops his eyes open and stares at his mate in a mixture of surprise, incredulity and joy.

“Are you really telling me that you… that you decided to... to…” he wavers, too thrilled to end his sentence.

Dominic chuckles, cupping Matt’s face and kissing him, shortly but deeply.

“You know, Mattie, I made a list with pro and cons, and no matter how many cons I found in that, every pro was related to you and you only.” Dom explains, wrapping his arms around the vampire’s neck.

“Matthew, you’re my pro. Fuck the rest!" he states with a huge grin, not as big as his listener’s grin.

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Dom made the best choice ever, did you have any doubt? ^^
> 
> so I can say that this is the end of Act II. Are you ready for Act III? Let me warn you, it’s the longest, the darkest… and my favorite one ^^ and in Italy I reached chapter XXVIII so far ^^
> 
> Please, feel free to tell me whatever you like ^^


	22. XVII I: You will suck the life out of me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic is ready, but what about Matt?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I’m so sorry for late, but RL is a bitch and I don’t have time for anything …
> 
> warnings: hot stuff, kinky stuff, bloodplay
> 
> Thanks to the wonderful Brigi for the corrections <3
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: the title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ‘Time is running out’ by Muse, because it’s so damn fitting ^^

~Dominic quits smiling and narrows his eyes.

“But, Matt, what about the sunlight issue?” he asks him, concerned.

Matthew smiles reassuringly at him.

“This is the last of your problems. You trust me, don’t you?” he murmurs, skimming his cheek with a finger.

“Since the very first day, when you asked me to give you guitar lessons.” the blond smiles sincerely at him. “By the way, couldn’t you mess up someone else’s life that day?” he adds, playfully.

“Nope, obviously I couldn’t!” Matt giggles, kissing his best friend.

“Anyway, this is funny: you fled London, because staying at home reminded you of us way too much … and you came here, in this place which is full of our memories more than anywhere else!” Matt makes him notice.

Dominic shakes his head, smiling.

“You’re right, here are plenty of our memories, but there isn’t even a sexy one among them!” he points out, placing a little kiss on the brunet’s lips.

“Oh. But we can fix this problem immediately!” Matthew smirks mischievously. “Come with me, baby!” he stretches his hand out to the blond and they get up together.

“Where are we going?” Dominic asks the vampire, without leaving his hand.

“Well, do you remember that beautiful house at the beach that was unreachable for us?” the singer comments, as he takes his lover to a specific place, not very far from there.

“Yep, honey, I remember that we always tried to get there, but uselessly. One day, the owners were even about to denounce us!” Dom chuckles at the memory.

“Well, not this time!” Matthew sneers.

“What do you mean?” Dominic frowns.

“I meant that I’ve found a very efficient way to get rid of the new owners, at least for a week.” the pianist sneers again.

The drummer jolts and loosens his grip on the brunet’s hand, staring disappointed at him.

“Matthew! You’re taking advantage of your superpowers way too much. You shouldn’t keep hypnotizing people if it’s not for feeding!” Dom reproaches him.

“Yeah, sure. What about the taxi driver in Osaka?” Matthew asks him, smirking.

“Well, that was a pure necessity! And you didn’t seem to disagree.” Dominic shrugs.

“However, Dommeh, relax. I didn’t hypnotize anyone. I’ve just paid them for renting their house; trust me, money can have even more hypnotic power than my whirling spirals!” the vampire informs the blond, making him smile.

“You’re crazy!” Dom ruffles his hair, before kissing him deeply.

“And I’ll tell you more. I wanted to rent for a night even the Foro Sol in Mexico, but nothing can compare with the adrenaline, the hiding and the risk of getting caught, don’t you think so?” Matt winks at him.

“Damn right!” Dom giggles.

Once they arrive, Matt opens the door and lets Dom in.

“Excuse me, if I had known what would happen tonight, I would have prepared myself better.” Matthew asserts, while Dominic takes a curious look around.

“And what would have you done?” the blond asks.

“Well, there would have been petals of roses scattered everywhere, candles, champagne…” Matthew starts to enumerate.

“Is there a bed here?” Dom cuts him off.

“Of course, there is!”

“Then, trust me, we have all we need, No, wait, for the record, the bed is not so necessary!” he chuckles, wrapping his arms around the brunet’s neck and kissing him deeply.

As they kiss, Matt walks backwards, until he reaches the bedroom.

“You’re so sweet, but since we have such a cool bed at our disposal, it would be stupid not to take advantage of that!” Matt breaks the kiss, pushing a giggling Dom on the bed and reaching him the moment after.

It’s a four-poster bed: large and comfortable and on the opposite wall there’s a big, half-opened window that shows a patch of the beach, but the thing that really makes everything perfect is that Dom and Matt are together, again.

They keep kissing, rolling on the mattress, among moans and giggles.

Matthew undoes the ribbons that tie the drapes, wrapping himself and his lover in red tulle.

“Missed you.” Dom murmurs against the singer’s lips.

“Missed you more!” Matt strikes back, with his hands on the drummer’s hips.

“Let’s not start a fight about who missed more whom, because it could last forever. And I mean it literally!” Dom asserts, sinking his hands into Matt’s messy hair, as he kisses him famished.

“There’s no need for that, we would be even at the end.” Matt smiles at him, when they part, deciding that it’s time for their clothes to reach the floor.

“Come here, gorgeous!” Dom opens his arms wide and Matt abandons himself in his lover warm’s embrace.

“I missed that.” Matt murmurs, half closing his eyes.

“I missed this!” Dom chuckles, as he rips Matt’s shirt open, making all the buttons fall on the floor, and caresses his pale chest, pinching his nipples.

“Dooooooom!” the vampire jolts, turning to him and getting rid of his trousers in less than a second.

“I missed this!” he sneers, cupping his balls.

“Maaaaaaaaaaaaatt!” Dom shrieks, arching back.

“Someone is very happy to see me!” the brunet sing songs.

“Someone should better hurry up if he still wants me to be happy!” Dom challenges him and his boxers disappear in a heartbeat, while there are intriguing shadows behind the drapes, according to how the two lovers move.

After giving his Dom what he needed and taking from him what he needed as well, Matt rises his head and smiles lovingly at his mate.

It’s a look that requests a kiss, a kiss that Dominic doesn’t refuse to his partner, tasting himself as well.

“I missed that.” Dom confesses, breaking the kiss.

“Me, too, a lot!” Matt nods, before lying down on the bed and unbuttoning his jeans, inviting the blond with his look. “Do you want to repay my favour?”

There’s no need for other words, Dominic jumps greedily on his lap, setting his boyfriend free from his jeans, ready to bring him over the edge.

A bunch of minutes later, a very satisfied Matt smiles at the blond, pulling him closer for a kiss.

“And I missed terribly this!” he murmurs, tasting himself on Dom’s mouth.

“We can have much more than this, Matteh.” Dominic smirks at him, mischievously.

“I know, and for the record you’re still too dressed, Dommeh!” the brunet strikes back, growling at him playfully, as he helps the blond to get rid of his sweater, until they’re equally naked, staring at each other for a few instants.

“Oh, honey, I can’t believe that, after this, it’s going to happen!” Dominic pants hard, while Matt grabs his legs and puts them on his shoulders, pulling his lover closer.

“Yeah, baby, after all I’m almost sure to know how to do that!” Matt smiles at the percussionist, kissing him again, as he places himself in front of Dom’s entrance.

“What?!” Dom jolts, breaking abruptly the kiss and pushing Matt off him, as he backs off.

“What’s wrong?” Matt questions him puzzled, unwilling to let him go, but doing that anyway to please his lover.

“What the hell does it mean that you’re almost sure? Did you ask your Sire and his girlfriend how to make me a vampire?” the blond asks the pianist, as he looks for his own clothes, scattered everywhere in the room.

“Well, I didn’t, but I’ve read it on Google!” Matt announces, sort of proudly, remaining utterly naked.

“And is that supposed to calm me down?” Dom squeaks, throwing his clothes at Matt.

“No more making love and no more trying to turn me until you know exactly how to do that!” the blond states impassibly, while he puts his skinny jeans on.

“Oh, c’mon! It’s only a matter of me drinking your blood and then I make you drink mine at a certain point. I know how to do that ... more or less!” Matt justifies, shrugging as if it wasn’t anything so important, while he dresses himself up, very unwillingly.

“And when is it said certain point?” Dom interrogates him, putting his hands on his hips and staring at his best friend in disbelief.

“Well, it’s right after ... or just before ... or during ... “ Matt waves.

“Bells!” Dom snaps.

“Okay, maybe I’d better ask Michael and Rachel.” the brunet ponders.

“Maybe?” Dom repeats, disappointed. “Matthew. You had one million of recurring nightmares about you killing me. Does it ring any bloody bell?”

“You’re right.” Matt admits, taking his mobile on the night table.

“Now you’re talking properly, honey!” Dom beams, kissing the singer’s cheek.

Matt caresses his face, as he dials the familiar number.

“Hello, Childe!” Michael chirps.

“Hi, guys, you know ... I’m here with Dm.”

“Really?” Rachel squeaks happily, stealing the mobile from her Sire.

“Yep, he gave me the best answer I could have asked for.” the brunet beams. “But we were wondering ... how does it work? How does the transformation work?” Matt babbles.

“About time!” Rachel exults. “Matt, we’ve been waiting for this kind of call for months!”  she reveals.

“So ... can you answer? Oh, wait, let me guess, it’s something that you can’t tell me by the phone, right?” Matt becomes suspiciousl.

“I’m afraid so, sugar.” Rachel sighs.

“You know, Matthew, you’re lucky. Rachel and I need ‘new staff ‘ for our house in Madrid.” Michael informs him. “But we can hurry up and do that tomorrow night. Can you reach us?”

“You’re still in Rome, aren’t you?” Matthew asks for confirmation.

“Correct.” Michael states.

“Deal.  I’m leaving tomorrow. See you at the airport, after sunset.” Matthew decides.

“Alright, so we can show you everything properly, dear. I’m so, so happy for you and Dom!” Rachel confesses, making the blond smile.

Matt greets them and ends the conversation.

“Are you satisfied now?” he snorts, turning to his best friend.

“A lot. And much more relieved, too.” Dom grins, hugging him tight.

ldquo;Do you want to come with me to Rome, tomorrow?” the brunet asks.

“Nope, thanks, but I prefer to stay here. I don’t feel like meeting those vampires again so soon.” escapes the blond’s mouth.

“What does ‘again’ means? Have you already met them?” the guitarist frowns.

“Yep, they came to me, it’s your bloody fault, you, Mr. Chatty!” the blond accuses him, playfully.

“Uhmm, yeah, probably your address escaped my mouth once or twice, when I talked with them.”

“Our address.” Dom corrects his lover and Matt feels a pleasant heat overwhelming him, increased by his best friend’s tender smile.

“However, the point is ... what did they tell you? Did they do something to you? If they dared touch you, I swear that I... “ Matt growls, growing nervous.

“Nope, they didn’t do anything bad. I asked them not to hypnotize me and they swore that they wouldn’t have done anything like that, because, honey, you’re scarier than what you think!” the percussionist laughs, as the pianist stares at him in confusion.

“You’d better ask them the whole thing.” Dom exhorts the other.

“I’ll do. So we have to wait again!” Matt complains.

“Oh, c’mon, Matt, it’s only a matter of two days. What are two days when you have an eternity ahead of you?” Dom makes him notice.

“But you don’t!” Matthew strikes back.

“Oh, c’mon, Bells! I don’t plan to become irremediably older in two days!” Dom jokes.

“But I wanted it now!” Matt whines, like a spoiled kid.

“Honey, believe me, it was a wonderful and unforgettable night anyway.” the blond smiles at him, sweetly.

“I know, baby.” Matthew smiles back. “But let’s make it more unforgettable.” 

“How?”

“I don’t want the night to end now. I want to do something special. Something different. Something that I’ve never done before.” Matthew announces, with a mysterious light sparkling in his amazing, blue eyes.

“Such as?” Dominic asks intrigued.

“If I can’t drink you tonight, then you will drink me. You’ll drink my blood.” he reveals, thrilled.

Dominic stares at him shocked.

“What? Why should I do such a gruesome thing?” the human grimaces in horror.

“Because I’d like it. I’ve read it on Google!” Matt replies.

“Bells! Quit it with the damn Google!” Dominic snaps.

“But it’s true! Vampires like the humans they choose to suck their blood.”

“Why?”  Dom wonders, even more puzzled.

“I don’t know why, but I want to find it out. C’mon, why are you so bothered? I just want to know what it feels like. I’ve never done it with anyone else,” Matt goes on.

“And you won’t ever try with any-bloody-one else!” Dom almost growls.

“Is it a ‘yes’?” Matt grins victoriously.

“I don’t know, Mattie … “ Dom trails. “What if something bad happens?”

“What could ever happen? It’s not me biting you, you will just suck a few drops of my blood, making me very happy!” the vampire reassures his boyfriend. “And you know that you want to make me happy!” he murmurs, seductively, as he gets closer to stare at him intensely.

“Don’t try your hypnotic tricks on me!” Dom barks, baking off.

“I’m not trying anything, after all, my tricks don’t even work on you. I’m only looking at you.” Matt points out, crawling over the blond, sensual like a cat.

“It has a dangerous effect on me!” Dom admits, fully aware that he’s in trap.

“I know!” Matt smirks, before kissing him passionately.

“Okay, Matt,” Dom breaks the kiss, staring seriously at his mate. “Let’s do this bloody thing … in every sense!” he asserts, smiling at the last part.

“Really?” Matt’s eyes flash with joy.

“Really, but … just a little bit.” Dominic pleads.

“Don’t worry. If you don’t like it or if I don’t like it, we’ll quit immediately.” Matt assures.

“Okay.” Dom agrees, waiting for the singer to do the first move.

And Matt does, letting his long and sharp canines descend and biting his right wrist.

He and Dom never break eye contact during the process and, contrary to his expectations, the blond finds that vision extremely hot.

Slowly, Matthew brings the little wound to Dominic, who stares for a few seconds at the bright, crimson blood.

He bends on the wrist, closing his eyes and clenching his fists, as he opens his mouth and allows his tongue to slip out and give a little lick, grimacing as if he had just tasted the most disgusting medicine ever.

That is before he savours the taste of Matt’s blood, while the vampire moans with delight as soon as he feels the blond’s tongue giving that faltering lick.

Dominic enjoys the taste, slowly and deeply, staring at the vampire as he keeps his eyes closed, with a pleased smile on his face.

The drummer grabs Matt’s wrist firmly and places his mouth on it again, but this time he sucks the wound, drinking hungrily.

The guitarist jolts in surprise and opens his eyes, caressing his lover’s nape and pulling him closer to his wrist.

“Oh, fuck! Dom, this is… fucking fuck, fuck!” he babbles incoherently, pushing his head behind and moaning louder.

The frontman risks having an orgasm when Dominic starts to bite his wrist.

After a few more drops, Dom parts from the wound and looks once again at Matt, licking his lips in front of his lover.

Matthew risks having another orgasm seeing that, but he confines himself to pull the drummer closer and smashes his lips against his, for a violent and hungry kiss.

As they kiss, Dominic deals both with Matt’s belt and his own belt, freeing them from their jeans and boxers.

“Uh-uh, do you have any interesting plan, baby?” Matt raises his eyebrow, feeling his mate’s eagerness.

“Shut up and open your legs wide, I’m going to fuck you until you scream!” Dom warns him, with a low groan, before straddling him, as hard as a stone, lust sparkling in his grey-green eyes.

According to his plans, Matt screams, he screams Dom’s name all time long, as Dominic pumps inside the brunet, harder and faster.

The blond can clearly read in his lover’s blue eyes, now darkened by passion, when he’s on the edge, before feeling something tick and warm wetting his belly and upper thigh.

It’s enough to make Dominic reach his apex as well, as he releases, still deep inside his partner.

Once he’s done, he parts from Matt and gets up, walking towards the bathroom and inviting the brunet to reach him.

“Oh God, Matt! I don’t know what the hell possessed me. First the blood, and then the wild sex, it was … wow!” Dom comments, as he opens the water, after taking his sweater off.

Matt does the same and goes into the shower with the drummer.

“Yeah, baby, it was mind-blowing and astonishing, but I guess that I know why it happened.” Matt says, as they both enjoy the warm sprout of the water.

“Please, enlighten me.” Dom asks, as he takes the sponge and the shower gel, ready to wash them both.

“I’ve read it on Google. Vampires’ blood can have an aphrodisiac effect on certain human subjects!” Matt reveals, grinning madly.

“Google begins to scare me!” Dom lets the sponge fall, staring at Matt dumbfounded.

“Oh, shut up!” Matt chuckles, kissing his boyfriend passionately.

(end I)


	23. XVII II: You will suck the life out of me

The day after, when Dom wakes up, around 12:00 a.m., Matt has already left, but on the pillow, next to his, there’s a folded sheet of paper and the blond opens it and reads it.

_‘ Dear my soon-to-be Childe, I’m on my way to Michael and Rachel, but when I’m back…’_

Dominic giggles, because there’s another sketch of Matt’s: this time there are two grinning faces with fangs that look at each other, holding hands inside a big heart.

‘With eternal love. Your soon-to-be Sire. ‘

It’s enough to read that paper to make Dominic absolutely sure that he made the best decision ever and he can’t wait for his Matt to be back.

\--------------------------------------------------

“Hello, dear! Long time no see!” Rachel cheers, walking towards  Matthew with Michael, at the airport after sunset.

“Yeah, that’s right, but let’s no waste time in greetings!” Matt strikes back excitedly, grabbing them both by their hands and walking away.

“To begin with, this is the wrong direction!” the vampiress chuckles, making Matt stop.

“Geez, Childe, relax! A minute more won’t kill you, neither Dom!” Michael asserts as he and Rachel take Matt to the right place.

“I know and I apologize for being so rude, but … try to understand, I’ve been waiting for such a long time. Okay, you’re centenary vampires and stuff like that, but to me it’s a very long time and … “ Matt starts to rumble, making the other two chuckle.

“We know, sugar, we know.” Rachel beams.

“Anyway, it was very easy to find you, we just had to follow the stream of screaming girls!” Michael winks at his younger Childe

“Huh! Well, sometimes being so famous is so bloody annoying!” Matt smiles shyly, while they arrive to the parking area and Michael gets inside a black BMW, followed by Rachel.

“So you drive, too!” Matt comments stunned, as he places himself at the back seat.

“Well, you know, Matthew, I saw the birth of the very first cars, so hell yeah I can drive one!” Michael claims, setting the car in motion.

“Cool choice, by the way!” Matt approves.

“You know, dear, since the last time, when you made us notice that we could use hypnosis to do much more than feeding … this is one of the first things we did!” Rachel winks at him.

The singer bursts out laughing.

“Well done, guys! You’re the vampire version of Bonnie and Clyde!” he giggles.

“I’ve heard of those two, they also had a beautiful love story.  Hey, Michael, that will be the next movie we rent!” she informs her Sire who snorts.

“Don’t worry, buddy, it’s also a movie full of shotguns, violence, action and adrenaline!” Matt reveals  with a smirk, before recalling something more important.

“Hey, what does it mean that you paid a visit to Dom? When, how and why?”

\---------------------------------------------------

Among revelations and several chats, the trip is over and they arrive in an abandoned house, but cozy somehow.

The two older vampires take Matt to a tour around the house and then they open a door at the end of the corridor, when the guitarist sees a man and a woman around forty-year-old, sitting comfortably on a sofa.

He can clearly hear their heartbeats, so he’s sure that they are humans.

“How can it be? Aren’t they gagged, chained or anything?” Matt wonders.

“No way. Listen, they are here willingly, they know what is going to happen to them.” Michael informs him, while the humans nod and wave their hands to him, calmly.

“And I suppose they’re not Muse fans, either!” the pianist figures out, rolling his eyes.

“Be right back.” Rachel informs the two humans, closing the door.

“Geez, Matt! You were surrounded by hundreds of people half an hour ago and you complained about the fact that you were too famous!” his Sire makes him notice, snorting.

“I know, but I’m a constant contradiction!” Matt protests, crossing his arms at his chest.

Rachel giggles and approaches to the singer.

“You know, dear, we don’t usually give our gift to anyone. As a matter of fact, you were the first one of this century … and of this millennium, too!” the brunette reveals.

“Really?” the frontman smirks flattered.

“Yep, we hadn’t done it for ages, since 1940!” Rachel recalls, but Matthew prefers not to investigate on that issue, since he has other priorities.

"So why now have you chosen them now, and why are they here of their own free will?" he demands.  
  
"Because they see us as salvation." Rachel smiles. "Do you remember when I said that we can read human minds? One night I was out for my business and I heard a woman crying desperately. She had just left the hospital and reading her mind I found out that they had just told her that her beloved husband was suffering from a bad, irreversible illness that would kill him gradually, in a slow death. " she explains. "So I went over and asked her if she was willing to do anything to save him, and she told me that she was, at any cost. So I took her in a more isolated place and have revealed what I was and what they could become ... and after an initial scare, guess what she decided? " she smiles.  
   
"Wow, it sounds much like a highly dramatic story, but with a beautiful happy ending!" Matt murmurs, moved.  
   
"And it is. In addition, the disease is at the first stage, for now he only has bad bouts of coughing and a bit 'of asthma ... but from tomorrow he will not even need to breathe anymore! " Michael smirks.  
   
"He will be as good as new!" Rachel smiles.  
   
"Of course, we will ensure that both of them behave as they should. None of our vampires has ever killed innocent people and no one will ever do! "Michael sentences, adamant.  
   
"Okay, now we can go to them." the oldest vampire decides. "You know, Matt, when you are about to turn someone, you will drink a lot of blood, so it is advisable not to feed before . I mean, would you eat before taking part in a steak-eating challenge? "he winks.  
   
"It makes sense!" Matt nods.  
   
"In contrast, however, you should drink more than usual the next day, it's just a precautionary measure in case a problem arises and you need to feed your Childe with your own blood." his Sire informs him.

att nods again, without paying attention to the part relating to problems, because his mind is completely clouded by the image of Dom feeding from him.  
   
Rachel, Michael and Matt go back into the room, taking a seat next to the humans.  
   
Matt is standing in the middle of the room watching everything very carefully, while Rachel takes care of the woman and Michael of the man.  
   
"You know, Matthew, it is very important that you know the exact moment when to stop. It’s when you hear their heartbeat slow down abruptly before they stop altogether. If the human drink your blood before that moment, nothing supernatural happens, the human simply suffers a great loss of blood, nothing that can’t be solved with a transfusion. But if you let the human drink after that moment has passed, even if you make a few drops of your blood fall in his throat, it's too late and there's nothing you can do. "Michael tells him, before biting the human’s neck.  
   
"Ju- ju- just like my nightmare?" Matt stutters terrified, gulping.  
   
"That's right, dear, but do not worry, I'm sure everything will be fine. Each vampire is able to sense when that special moment comes. Come here, keep her wrist and tell me when you think I should stop. "Rachel invites him, biting the woman.  
   
Matthew obeys, grabs the wrist and concentrates.  
   
"It 's... now?" he says after a while', but it is so hesitant that looks more like a question.  
   
"Bravo, Matt! It’s right now. Very good!" Rachel congratulates, separating from the woman, now quite exhausted and bites her own wrist. Not far from them, Michael is doing the same.  
   
Rachel brings the wound to the mouth of the woman, who licks just a few drops, before losing consciousness.  
   
"No matter how much blood they take, even one drop is enough." the vampiress explains, getting up from the couch with Michael and letting their guests sleep.  
   
"I understood everything." Matt nods. "And what have I done? Did I drink few drops? " he gets curious, while they walk towards the exit.  
   
"Quite the contrary! I had to remove you by force, eager boy! "Michael laughs at the memory.  
   
"Good. I guess the lessons are finished. Thanks for everything, guys, I'll let you know how things go!" the singer smiles, ready to go.  
   
"There's one more thing, Matthew." Michael stops him.  
   
"What?" the younger vampire turns to his sire.  
   
"Since you're still so inexperienced, pretty much a newbie, well ... your Childe may be weaker than you." Michael warns him.  
   
"Too weak to resist to the transformation?" the Englishman alarms, seeing his dreams breaking.  
   
"No, not that ..." the Spanish shakes his head.  
   
"Oh, thank God. So you are referring to the fact that he will not have the super-strength? Oh well, that's not a problem, after all we do not aim to conquer the world, that’s for sure! We've already done it with our music!" Matt laughs, relieved, before leaving.

  
"It’s not what I meant." Michael mutters, grieving.

\--------------------------------

Matthew returns to Teignmouth when it’s almost dawn.  
   
As quietly as possible, he opens the door and sneaks into the bedroom, where he finds the sleeping figure of Dominic, hidden by the linens.  
   
Matthew takes off his shoes and jacket and opens slighlty the drapes, reaching his beloved under the covers.  
   
"Matt?" Dom murmurs, stretching.  
   
"Shh, baby. Yes,  it’s me, I'm back, but it's still early, It’s not even six in the morning. Just think about sleeping now. "Matt whispers, stroking his golden hair.  
   
Still keeping his eyes closed, Dom nods and pushes against the brunet, resting his head on the brunet’s chest, while Matthew lazily wraps his arm around his waist, before falling deeply asleep.

\------------------------------------

It's past noon when Dom opens his eyes, while Matt is still asleep.  
   
Without waking him, Dominic slips away from his lover’s embrace, allowing him to rest again.

  
_\- It 's my last day as a human being, let's enjoy it!-_   he decides, dressing up and going out.  
   
\-------------------------------------------------- ---  
   
In the early afternoon, Matt moans upset when he wakes up but can’t find Dominic by his side, but he smiles when he finds him outside the house, sitting on the sand, watching the sea and holding a hand over his heart.  
   
"You're doing what I was not allowed to do!" the brunet whispers, taking a seat next to his best friend.  
   
"Yes, I remember that speech in Seoul that night. I'm listening to the beating of my heart for the last time, plus I spent all day in the sunshine and I also went to the music store to play drums a little. " the blond replies.  
   
"I've already told you that you can still remain in the sunlight as much as you like, with me. You just have to trust me-you'll find out everything when the time comes. "Matt assures him.  
   
"I know, honey, I do. I just don’t know ... I wanted to do it anyway for the last time as a human, as well as playing ... I know that I will not stop even as a vampire, but I was ... " Dom justifies  
   
"I understand very well." Matthew smiles sweetly, as he places his hand on the hand that Dom’s holding over his heart.  
   
"Will you miss it, baby?" the vampire asks him, kissing his temple.  
   
"I'm a drummer, I'm dealing with so many other beats. I can give up very easily the one belonging to my heart! " Dom jokes, making his boyfriend laugh.  
   
"I will miss the fact that it used to beat for both of us." the blond says, becoming serious and a little  melancholy.  
   
"Oh, Dommeh" Matt melts, stroking his shoulders. "Our love does not need any stupid heartbeat. Our love does not pulse. Our love burns! "he whispers, before kissing him hungrily.  
   
"Wow, Matteh!" Dom says at the end. "You can’t leave me so deeply unsatisfied after a kiss like that!" the percussionist smirks.  
   
"And, tell me, what do you suggest?"  Matt asks persuasive, raising an eyebrow.  
   
"Let's go back inside and make our love burn a little more! '" the blonde giggles, standing up and dragging his partner with him.  
   
They fall on the bed and among moans and panting breaths, daring caresses and hot kisses, glances and whispers of love, the two lovers make love in the most gentle and slow way ever, savouring every moment.

  
Matthew takes the absolute control, while their bodies become just one.  
   
Dominic screams satisfied, followed a few minutes later by Matt.

 

"Oh, honey, it was so intense! Much more than usual, maybe it's because it's my last time as a human. " Dom murmurs, embracing Matt who is still inside him.  
   
"Last ti..." Matt repeats stunned.  
   
"Matthew, I'm ready. Let's do it now!" Dominic almost orders.  
   
The brunet jolts, separating from him.  
   
"Uh? Already? But ... it's not even sunset yet! In all the movies every pwopah vampire waits for midnight to make his beloved eternally his! " the pianist says.  
   
"Fuck the bloody movies. Matteh, we are in real life and I don’t give a fuck about that damn cliché!” Dom replies "Let's make a compromise. You make me a vampire, right here and right now, otherwise I’m going to spend all the time I have left to say 'this is the last time I make love as human', 'this is the last shower that I take as a human', 'this is the last dinner that ... '"  
   
"Okay, okay, I got the point. You'd be unbearable. Okay, let's do it now! "Matthew agrees, smiling at his boyfriend.  
   
"Before we begin, there's one thing that I want you to know. There will be no dominant figure and no subjected figure. I'm not Dracula and you will not be a stupid bride of Dracula. No one will ever order anything to the other. There will be absolute evenness." Matt promises as he puts his boxers on and Dominic imitates him.  
   
"I like that. Also because I don’t picture myself in a gown of Dracula’s bride! " Dom chuckles.  
   
"I can picture you bloody well!" Matthew smirks cheekily, winking.  
   
"I got it. We will have a cross-dressing night. And you could dress like a sexy vampire slayer ... you already have the _stake_! " Dominic grins mischievously.  
   
"Oh, Dommeh, I love your kinky mind so, so much!" the vampire grins, before looking seriously at his partner.  
   
"Think about it, my love," the vampire whispers, his eyes already emitting a flash of unnatural blue. "You'll be so young and beautiful forever!" he makes his best friend  shiver with pleasure, because he whispers the last two words in his ear, teasing his lobe with elongated and sharp canines, scraping it lightly.  
   
A long, deep groan escapes from Dominic’s lips, before he regains the power of speech.  
   
"Although it sounds tempting, trust me, I’m not doing it for that, but just to be with you, that's the kind of 'forever' I aim to" the blond whispers in the brunet’s ear, sucking his lobe.  
   
"Oh, Dommeh" Matthew smiles at him, kissing him, before going down towards his neck, kiss after kiss.  
   
Dom tilts his neck more, allowing better access to his companion, in the fullest confidence.  
   
Matthew runs the length of  Dom’s neck with his tongue, making him moan in response, completely relaxed.  
   
It 's just what Matt was waiting for.  
   
The brunet opens his mouth, piercing the skin between the juncture of the neck and the left shoulder with his fangs, as delicate as he has never done before, enjoying the first drops of Dom’s blood, exactly as delicious as he remembered it.  
   
The drummer does not even have the time to complain, because the initial pain leads immediately to an overwhelming pleasure, which only increases with every sip.  
   
"Oh, Matt! This is fuckin 'great! It 's like an orgasm! And you didn’t want to do such a wonderful thing to me in all these months? You, idiot!” the blond moans.  
   
Matthew separates from Dom, staring at him with his vampire features  
   
"I couldn’t. I would not stop there. _Can’t_ stop here! "he growls, attacking the blond’s neck once more, so violently that he makes both of them lie down on the mattress.  
   
"Oh yeah, yesss, go on! Do not stop!" Dom incites him, in absolute bliss.  
   
As he keeps drinking his mate’s addictive blood, Matthew controls his best friend’s pulse, holding his left wrist.  
   
After  a while he realises that is the proper moment, when he feels Dom go limper and limper, between life and death, but the blonde still has enough strength to keep smiling at his lover.  
   
Smiling back at his partner, Matt separates from him and practices with his nail a cut on his chest, above his right nipple.  
   
Caressing Dominic’s nape, Matt pulls him closer to him, making him sit on his lap.  
   
There is no need to speak. With the last efforts, Dominic begins to suck the wound, drinking his partner’s supernatural blood with even more eagerness than the last time.  
   
Matthew smiles satisfied, throwing his head back and fully enjoying that great feeling and Dominic begins to suck that cut more vigorously, with renewed energy, even if temporary.  
   
It’s Matt who pushes him away, as gently as possible, after a while, helping him to lie down on the bed.  
   
Dominic has never felt so weak and he questions Matt with his eyes.  
   
"It 's more than normal, love, you're just dying!" that the vampire responds to his silent question, smiling sweetly.  
   
"Ca- can you  hu-hug me?" the drummer asks him with ghostly voice, while his heart is performing the very last beat.  
   
"For eternity and beyond!" the singer murmurs, holding the sleeping companion in his arms, apparently dead.  
   
Matthew divides his pendant  in two parts, putting the white half on a chain which he has already prepared  and carefully fastens it around the blond’s neck.  
   
Without bothering to pull the curtains, Matthew places them both under the covers and follows his boyfriend into oblivion, falling asleep, no matter if the sun still has to set.  
   
Besides, that was a shocking, wonderful experience, magnificent, extraordinary, but also extremely exhausting.  
   
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I can tell you that this is the quiet before the storm! XD
> 
> and not, it’s not over, let’s say that this is the beginning of act III (act II starts when Dom finds out what Matt has become) , the last one, but also the longest, the darkest and... the one I can’t wait to show you ^^
> 
> If you still remember this story, I hope you’ll like it, pleaseeee let me know anyway ^^  
> huge thanks


	24. XVIII: And you know how I feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic 's first day as a vampire is plenty of surprises for the blond, but not all of them are so pleasant..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta-ed version, thank to Brigi 
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: the title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ''Feeling Good' covered by Muse
> 
> Warning: hot stuff, violence, bloodplay … sure, all this after a HUGE mountain of fluff XD

Matthew wakes up first, still holding Dom in his arms, while the blond is still sleeping, deeply and peacefully, without a sound, without a movement, without a breath.  
Smiling, Matt realizes that his boyfriend's skin has already become paler and, if possible, it makes him even more beautiful.  
Matt can't wait for Dom to open his eyes again, but as soon as he glances at his watch he definitely changes his mind.  
It's past eleven o'clock in the night.  
"No, no, no. Please, Dom, don't open your eyes yet!" Matthew wishes out loud, letting his beloved slip from his embrace, being careful not to wake him, but Dominic seems to have no intention of waking up.  
Matt jumps out of bed, panic-stricken.  
As always, he has acted without thinking about the consequences.  
What if Dom woke up before midnight?  
If he had turned him in the evening, as Matt intended to do, he would have the entire day at his disposal to prepare everything he needs to welcome his mate in his world in the best way possible.  
But given his inability to say no to Dominic, which led Matthew to turn him in the afternoon, as requested by the blond, indeed, there are high chances that Dominic may awake before midnight and he is a time bomb that Matt does not know how to deactivate.  
The singer does not have the time to seek preys for Dom, he doesn't even have the time to go and feed himself. He cannot leave Dominic, what would happen if he woke up all alone?  
Matthew remembers painfully well the terrible hunger that has gripped his innards during his first midnight as a reborn and remembers that he was capable of anything to quench that tremendous thirst.  
\- _But one night without feeding won't kill me!_ \- he decides, remaining to vigil over Dominic.  
He waits patiently, very patiently, but as time passes nothing happens, even when it comes midnight.  
The thought that something went wrong and the transformation is not successful doesn’t cross Matthew, not even for a moment.  
He can feel it, right in his heart that does not beat, that he has performed every step more than correctly. It 's just that Dominic is a great sleeper, obviously much more than Matt.  
 _-This gives me time to pack your bags. It's time to go home!_ \- he ponders, gathering all his things and putting them in his trolley.  
When he's done, it is almost one in the morning and the blond is still sleeping peacefully.  
The brunet goes back to bed as well, assured that for that night there will not be any danger.  
/  
It's early morning when, slowly and lazily, Dom moves in his sleep and opens his eyes.  
The first thing he notices is that Matt is still sleeping by his side.  
However, with growing terror, the second thing he notices is the large open window in front of him, with a shy ray of sun that is kissing his face.  
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" he cries, diving under the covers and staying there, trembling.  
Because of his movements, but mainly because of his screams, Matt wakes up instantly, giggling when he sees the small mountain under the covers at the bottom of the bed.  
"Dom, come out of there!" calls him the brunet.  
"No, I cannot! The sun!" the drummer whines. "But how the hell can there be a sunny day here, where it is supposed to rain forever?" he mutters.  
"Probably the sun wanted to welcome you to un-life!" Matt chuckles.  
"Oh, that's very nice of it!" Dom mumbles sarcastically, making each other laugh.  
"All right, Dominic, now listen to me, you've hidden there because you have seen the sun, right?" Matt sums up.  
"Damn right!" the small mountain under the covers replies.  
"But the sun was already there for you long before you knew it," the frontman makes him patiently notice .  
"Hey, wait a minute. You're right. So why didn't I explode? " the drummer wonders.  
"Because of reasons!," replies Matt, kicking off the covers.  
"Nooooo! Maaaaatt " Dom squeaks, panic-stricken, running after him and using his boyfriend as shelter.  
"Stop being a baby! Have you forgotten when I told you that sunlight would not be a problem for you? "Matt whispers, turning to his mate.  
"Yes, but then you didn't do anything!" Dom protests.  
"Ah, no, I did not, did I?" Matt raises his eyebrow, showing half of his pendant.  
Instinctively, Dominic looks down and sees the other half, hanging from his neck.  
"I know that you feel uncomfortable when you sleep with pendants, but you will always have to keep it tight to your neck." the brunet smiles tenderly.  
"Oh. But then .. " the blond reflects out loud.  
"Yep, it can be divided into two parts. Isn't that great? "Matt smirks, before placing a gentle kiss on Dom's lips.  
"Yes, it is!" Dom beams, resting his forehead against Matt's.  
"But I know something that is even more fantastic." the brunet murmurs, while his fingers intertwine in those golden locks.  
"What?" Dom pretends to be curios.  
"You!" Matt smiles, kissing him deeply. "I know it's hard to believe, but you are even more beautiful."  
"Uh! Well, it 's possible, by the way ... " Dominic pushes Matthew away, rushing to the bathroom.  
"You were right, vampires do have reflections!" he screams from the other room, with relief evident in his voice.  
" I told you so!" Matt chuckles.  
"Well, I needed a proof" percussionist justifies, reaching his lover and crawling on the bed, with the sensuality of a cat.  
"So, baby, don't you think that it's time that I give you a pwopah welcome in this new world?" Matt looks at him sensually, spreading his arms.  
Dom leans back against his chest and enjoy his boyfriend's embrace, turning his head to kiss him, before parting from Matt, looking bothered.  
"Sure, but first ... can you make it stop?" the blond asks.  
"What?"  
"Everything! The bloody waves of the bloody sea, the damn chirping of the bloody birds, the bloody airplanes flying in the bloody sky, all the damn people's bloody chatting, far away from here! It's annoying the hell out of me! " Dominic snaps, closing his ears with his hands.  
Matt chuckles again.  
"Well, Dom, make friendship with super-hearing, it will be your faithful companion!" he reports.  
"You mean that I have to deal * forever * with this infernal mess?" the percussionist asks him terrified  
"Nope, only during your first day as reborn. But you're lucky. I had to wait until late at night, before Michael and Rachel explained to me how I could control it. I can teach you right now, if you want to. " the singer suggests.  
"Yes, it would be very appreciated." Dominic begs him. "So after that, we can dedicate ourselves to more pleasant activities." he smiles lustfully.  
"I can't wait!" the pianist smirks back in the same way, sitting on the bed and Dom mirrors his actions.  
"You know, Dommie, it's all about mental power ..."  
/  
About two hours later, Dominic has learned the entire basic repertoire to control his super hearing, sight and speed and has done nothing but go out on the beach in order to test his skills.  
Matthew has spent all this time running after him, happy to see his boyfriend so hyperactive.  
"Oh, Mattie, this is so cool!" Dom rejoices, appearing out of nowhere and embracing the brunet from behind, nibbling his nape.  
The truth is that Matt is too tired to have his senses fully activated, which is why Dominic manages to surprise him so easily.  
Matt looks for his lover's mouth and kisses him wildly.  
"Baby, I think it's time to go." he murmurs at the end of their kiss.  
"Where?" Dom asks him.  
"Home. We're going back to London. Things will be much easier there. Here if I have to feed I hardly find someone who does not know me! And I don't mean as a Muse member, only as Matthew Bellamy " Matt explains.  
"I think you're right. Let's go. " the blond approves.  
"Okay, the car is ready. Then we will also stop at your bed & breakfast, so you can get your stuff, " Matt decides, leading him to his car.  
/  
Matt has been driving for nearly an hour, when he catches a glimpse of a service area.  
"Okay, it's time to get fuel!" the guitarist says, parking the car "Be right back, baby," he warns the blond, who takes the opportunity to go out and take a little walk around.  
After all, it is not a very busy place, on the contrary, so Dom can enjoy a little privacy.  
Twenty minutes later, Matt is back, looking very satisfied.  
"Okay, Dommie, we can go." he asserts.  
"But how? You did not even fill up the car! " Dom notices, confused.  
"I was not talking of the car before. I had to fill myself!" the brunet grins, making the blond chuckle. "By the way, when I was inside a lot of people recognized me, so they could approach us in any moment!" he warns his mate, climbing in the car with him, and placing a plastic bag in the back seat.  
"We'd better go, then." Dom agrees, but then looks at Matt thoughtfully. "You know, Mattie, you've just talked about feeding and stuff. Is it normal that, although you have turned me into a vampire, when it comes to this topic I'm still so ... "he wonders, searching for the right word.  
"Squeamish about blood and everything?" Matt ends the question for his boyfriend.  
"Yeah." the other mutters.  
Matthew bursts out chuckling.  
"It 's more than normal, love. It 's still too early. " the pianist explains.  
"Really?" the drummer frowns.  
"Do you remember when Chris cut his finger and I sucked it?"  
"Of course I remember, I was so damn jealous!" Dom admits.  
Matt laughs.  
"Really?" his partner asks for confirmation, a little flattered.  
"Of course, yes, I wanted to be the lucky one."  
"Well, if I remember correctly, you have sucked much more than my finger!" Matthew recalls, with a perverse smile.  
"Pig!" Dom exclaims and, if only he could still do it, he would blush.  
"Anyway, as I was saying, when I sucked his blood, I ran to the bathroom and spit, deeply disgusted with myself, unable to explain why the blood had tasted so ..."  
"Delicious?" Dom hazards.  
"Exactly." Matthew admits. "But then I've found out it at midnight and it will be the same for you." he explains. "However, I bet you're hungry now, hungry as a human, am I right?" he goes on.  
"Damn right, I'm hungry!" the blond confesses and the rumbling in his stomach speaks for himself.  
"Then this is for you," the frontman says, taking the plastic bag that he placed on the seat.  
"Fish and chips and a diet coke!" Dom exults. "Have I already told you that I love you?"  
"Not yet, today!" Matt beams.  
"Well, you must be assured that I love you!" Dom mumbles with his mouth full. "Would you like some? '" he questions him, handing the chips.  
Matt makes a puzzled expression.  
"Uhmm .. no, Dommie, I do not think chips and blood are a nice mix. " he ponders out loud.  
"Why not? It would be just fries dipped in a red, dense and tasty liquid,... just like ketchup! " the percussionist shrugs.  
"Eeeww! Dom, it's revolting! " Matt grimaces, horrified.  
"Wasn't I supposed to be the squeamish one?" the blond teases him.  
"Touché!" the brunet raises his hands in surrender. "And you know what? Perhaps it is not even such a bad idea! "he says, staring at the chips. "But not now. I am quite satisfied. "  
"How many?" Dominic asks his partner.  
"How many what?" the pianist frowns.  
"You know."  
"Oh. Well ... five people. Matt reveals.  
"Damn! So many! "Dom comments, astonished.  
"Well, you know, yesterday I did not feed, in order to keep company to a certain someone who asked me to hold him in my arms!" the guitarist justifies.  
"Aww, but that's so nice of you!" Dominic squeaks softened, wrapping his arms around his neck and gently placing his lips to his for a small, but intense kiss.  
The blond parts from the brunet, staring at him puzzled and savouring a certain taste in his mouth.  
"What?" Matt looks at him worried.  
"You know, you still taste of human blood." the drummer explains, moving away from him and staying focused on that flavour.  
"Oh no, I'm so sorry, I forgot that ..." Matt is quick to apologize, but Dom pulls him closer to him, taking him by the collar of his shirt.  
"I did not say it's a bad thing!" the drummer smirks, deepening the kiss.  
When they separate, Matt smiles relieved.  
"Oh, baby, tonight you're going to experience that pwopewly," the singer whispers, leaning against Dominic's forehead  
"Can't wait!" the other chuckles excitedly.  
/  
Time goes by and after a while Dom realizes that Matt looks pretty tired.  
"Do you want me to exchange roles and drive a little, so you can get some rest?" the drummer suggests.  
"Nope, it's better if we don't." Matt protests, rubbing his eyes.  
"Oh, come on, Matt, do not be a baby! Hey, do you remember? It's my life that you've taken away from me, not my driving skills!" Dom insists  
Matt gasps, looking almost hurt.  
"I did not take your life. You're the one who offered it to me, willingly!" he points out.  
"Yes, whatever!" Dom shrugs. " Now stand aside and let me drive!" he insists and the other obeys.  
Matthew takes the opportunity to get some more than deserved rest.  
When he opens his eyes, they are only a few miles from London.  
"Hello, precious!" Dom smiles  
"But how long have I slept?"  
"Well, now we're almost home!" Dom laughs, without taking his eyes from the highway.  
"No, I'm sorry, I wanted to keep you company." Matt apologizes.  
"You've kept me company while I was sleeping the longest of my sleep. I guess we're even!" Dom smirks, putting a hand on his thigh.  
"Hey, speaking of sleep ... have you already tried to sleep in a coffin?" the blond asks.  
"What? Hell, no, Dom! Why would I?" Matthew blinks.  
"We should, It sounds so funny. And bizarre. But more than anything else it's fun!" the other insists , with a disturbing light in his eyes.  
"Dominic James Howard, if you're going to the cemetery, I swear ..." the brunet grows nervous.  
"Calm down, Bells!" Dom chuckles "Who did you mistake me for? I would never sleep in a gray, dirty, dusty and dingy crypt. I want a coffin, maybe a portable coffin, when we are at the hotel. I want a golden coffin, with velvet interior leopard ... or hot pink velvet, whatever .. the important thing is that it must be velvet! " he says, thrilled at the thought.  
"A golden coffin?" Matt repeats skeptical , looking puzzled.  
"I'm rich, I can be eccentric!" the blond shrugs.  
Matt takes a few moments to think about it, stroking his chin with his thumb.  
"Maybe you'll get one for your birthday!" the pianist chuckles.  
"Which one? The human birthday or the vampire-day?" Dom gives him trouble.  
"The one ... hey, wait a minute! You don't expect two presents now, do you?" Matt snorts, scratching his head.  
"Of course I do! However, you can give me the coffin for my birthday as a human, which comes first ... unless you already have a gift for me for my very first day as a vampire, now!"  
"Dom, the name says it all: anniversary. It 's after a year!" Matt points out.  
"You're so picky!" the percussionist snorts.  
"All right, let's say that today is your first day as a vampire. You've already received your gift." Matt confronts promptly, indicating the pendant around the blond's neck.  
"What? Oh, please, don't make me laugh! This is not a gift!" the blond protests.  
"Fine. Then give me it back!" the brunet challenge him.  
"But it's not sunset yet!" Dom points out.  
"I know!" Matt grins, already tasting the victory.  
"Wanker!" Dom snaps.  
"Hey!" the brunet exclaims.  
"It's not an insult, honey, it's just a prediction. For later ... have fun all alone!" the drummer says acidly, removing the hand from Matt's leg.  
"So you would let me spend alone the very first day of our un-life together forever, wouldn't you?" Matt's eyes widen.  
"Of course, I would!" Dom shrugs, as if it was a matter of little importance.  
"Is this a dirty blackmail?" the singer growls.  
"Is it working?" the blond questions back.  
"Fine, then!' You'll get your bloody coffin for your bloody human birthday. And you'll get a bloody gift for your bloody vampire anniversary, too!" Matt gives in.  
"I love you, my bloody honey!" Dom giggles, on his own line. "One last thing. Never show me the victory smile if you are not fully confident that you have actually won!" he teases him.  
"I learned my lesson!" Matt grumbles. "Anyway, you know what? Now you gave me weird ideas."  
"How weird?" the drummer asks intrigued.  
"I want a coffin as well, but it must be a silver one and completely covered in glitter!" the singer reveals, almost drooling at the thought.  
Dominic burst out laughing.  
"Oh we'll be the most absurd vampires who ever un-lived!" he says between laughs. "And you know what? We also should live in a castle ..."  
"Sure. And maybe you're thinking about the Miraval castle, right?" Matt pretends to go along with his best friend.  
"Love, you've read my mind!" Dom grins.  
"Yes, all right, but maybe let's face the whole thing step by step!" the guitarist tries to reason with the percussionist.  
"All right. But I want a pet!" Dominic sentences and Matt can already see the disquieting glint in his grey-green eyes.  
"I want ..."  
"Dommie, no, don't say it!" the frontman tries to stop him, but it is too late.  
"I want a leopard!"  
"Are you bloody nuts?" Matt yells at him.  
"But .. Mattie, they are the most beautiful animals in the world!" Dom insists, pouting.  
"Do not use your 'Mattie' with me and don't aim at me your lethal pout! Forget the leopard. And there is no blackmail that will make me change my mind, so do not even try!" the younger replies, impassive.  
"All right!" the older gives in, deeply disappointed.  
/  
Once they're back home, after performing all the necessary chores, Matt and Dom are free to spend some quality time together.  
"Come here, my Childe!" Matt calls him, spreading his arms, leaning against the headboard.  
Dom accepts the invitation, shuddering at the sound of that word, so full of meaning.  
"Mm ... call me like this again and again," the blond places an innocent peck on the brunet's lips. "My Sire!" he adds with a sigh.  
This time it's Matt shivering and using their super speed in less than half a second they are already under the sheets to give vent to their burning passion, with their clothes scattered all over the room and the corridor.  
"It ... has never been so intense ..." Dom pants heavily, although he does not even need to breathe anymore, and rests his head on Matt's shoulder.  
"It was amazing. You know, baby, with enhanced senses and everything ... _the best I ever had_! "Matt sings the last part, giving him a breathtaking kiss.  
"It was proper!" Dom chuckles against his lips.  
"And you know, Dommie, with a claim it would be even more special."  
"What is a claim?" Dom wonders, while he lightly scratches Matt's chest.  
"I bite you and you bite me at the same time, even better if sex. is involved. Michael and Rachel said that it's ecstatic, but it also has a deeper meaning. " the brunet explains, stroking Dom's back.  
"What's the meaning?" Dom asks him eagerly.  
"It 's a commitment. A mutual declaration of ownership and possession. It 's a spiritual marriage. A fusion of souls. "Matt whispers, covering the other with kisses, choosing a different area of Dominic's body for every word he utters.  
"Wow. It sounds so exciting!" the blond murmurs, ruffling his messy hair.  
"It is, but we have time for that." Matthew beams.  
"You're right. Now let's go have dinner, I'm starving! "  
/  
"Matt, fuck, can you bloody quit watching that fucking clock? You make me nervous! " Dom snaps, while he reads the menu to pick up the dessert.  
"Dom, it's nearly half past eleven! Hurry the fuck up, so we can leave the restaurant! "Matt urges him, drumming his fingers and tapping his foot on the floor in a nervous tic.  
"Geez, calm down, Bells! We have time for everything on the schedule. Besides, eating has become a totally amazing experience. Everything tastes better! "Dom justifies with the excitement of a child.  
"I know, baby!" Matt smiles, softened. "But trust me, when midnight comes you'll wish not to be still here!" he warns him.  
"Why?" Dom frowns.  
"You'll see. And it's going to be painful! "  
"Well, here is perfect. You know, this is one of my favorite streets for hunting. "Matt reveals, as he takes his partner there.  
"See? We arrived on time! " Dom states, pointing at his watch that indicates five to midnight. "So, what are we going to do now?"  
"Wait here for me and don't move." Matt instructs him.  
"Why? Where are you going? "  
"I'm going to find a solution to your incoming trouble." Matt leaves, around four to midnight.  
He's back just in time to hear the first tolling of a bell tower nearby.  
When it comes to their ears also the last stroke, Dom cries in agony, while Matt supports him to prevent him from falling on the ground.  
"Damn it! I feel like crap! Maaaaaaaaaaatt! Ouuucch, it's terrible!" the blond whines, growling and surprising himself for that new sound.  
"About time! I couldn't wait for you to do that!" Matt smirks.  
"Pleeease, do something .. aaahhh!" Dom begs him, in pain.  
"I'm already doing." the brunet asserts, placing him to the ground, as gently as possible, and going to take the preys for his mate: two boys and a girl, mid-twenties.  
The girl is the first designated victim. She has been previously hypnotized by Matt, as well as the two guys, and Matt makes her bow near Dom, which makes a huge effort to turn his head towards her, as he questions his Sire with his eyes.  
"My beloved mate is in such awful pain right now, but you want to help him feel better,don't you?" the singer persuades the girl.  
"Yes, I do." she assures in a trance.  
Matt helps his Childe to sit up and puts the girl in his lap.  
Dom pushes the girl's black and smooth long hair aside, exposing her snowy long neck that seems extremely tender.  
His eyes are tinged with a dazzling green, almost radioactive.  
"You're gorgeous." Matt gasps in surprise, stroking his hair. "Now feed, baby, everything should be natural to you." he smiles encouragingly.  
Dom nods weakly, opening his mouth and showing two sharp, elongated canines, which he sinks into the unfortunate girl’s neck.  
After a long sip of that delicious, restoring, warm blood, Dominic feels his body invigorated, as the thirst increases.  
He bites his victim deeper, making her give out a small yelp.  
Matt supervises the scene, ready to intervene.  
"Dom, okay, now stop." he exclaims.  
"No!" the blond replies harshly, as he keeps draining the girl who is now unconscious.  
"You've got enough!" Matt tries again, sounding more authoritative.  
"No, it's not true. I want more. "Dom protests  
Matthew understands that words won't take him anywhere.  
He grabs Dominic by the shoulders and pushes him away from the girl, rather abruptly.  
Dom rises and moves towards Matt.  
"Bad move, Sire," he growls, still with his full vampire features, as he grabs Matt by the collar of his jacket, lifting him in the air. "That was really a bad move!" He adds, throwing him against the wall so hard that if he was still human, Matt would have broken ribs, legs and back.  
The brunet gets up as if nothing had happened. Well, almost nothing.  
-Hey, wait! Wasn't he supposed to be weaker than me? - Matt wonders, realizing that the best thing to do is to free from the spell the two guys and let them escape before it's too late.  
Dominic is already back on his prey, sinking his fangs into her neck again.  
"I don't fucking think so!" Matt growls angrily, pushing him away, several meters away, crashing him on the ground.  
He's about to set the girl free, but Dom doesn't give him the time, attacking his Sire from behind and dragging him on the ground with him.  
It's nothing even remotely similar to the playful, funny fights to which they are more than accustomed to. This time they both really intend to hurt each other.  
"Dom! This must be your demon that wants to prevail, but you can fight it!" Matt shouts, pinning him, as he takes repeatedly punches his face, causing Dom to pour blood from his lower lip.  
Dominic licks off his own blood and laughs loud, kicking with both feet Matthew's abdomen, to get rid of him.  
"Dom is not at home now. Please try again later! " the newborn vampire sneers devilishly, rising with an agile leap, ready to attack again.  
"Do not even try, Dominic. You know I will not let you ... "  
The drummer cuts the singer off with a vicious kick on his face.  
Now Matt is the bleeding one, but he cleans up with a frustrated growl, grabs Dom by the hair, giving it a powerful tug, which makes the blond yelp in pain.  
Matt pulls him closer.  
"Listen to me, now you leave that girl alone and you come home with me!" he hisses, as serious as he has ever been.  
In response, Dom pushes hard his knee to Matt's groin, making him fall on the ground in pain.  
"Is it this, then? It's just because you want to protect the bloody bimbo? Fine, it's all yours. I can find other victims, all the ones I want! " he hisses acidly.  
"No, Dom, you can't. I still have to teach you everything about the hunt. If you do not hypnotize your preys, it's too painful for them! "Matt informs him, finding the strength to get up.  
"Great, so it's even better!" Dominic sneers, his eyes glinting with a green fluorescent lucid madness, ready to run away, but Matthew grabs him in time, smashing him against the wall and pressing his body against his, to keep him imprisoned .  
"Feed on me!" he urges him, panting hard, while with one hand he unbuttons his jacket and shirt.  
"What?" Dom raises an eyebrow, looking skeptical.  
"You heard me. You're not ready for the hunt tonight. It was my mistake. But you have to feed. You didn't take enough blood yet. " Matt explains.  
"But you ..." the stunned blond stares at him with his radioactive green eyes radioactive interrogating him.  
"I'm strong enough to bear it. Do you remember? Five people today! " the brunet smirks. "Trust me, I can do that!" he encourages him. "Oh come on, it will be fantastic." he smiles.  
Dominic kisses him gently on the lips, and then begins to descend on Matt's neck, finding the junction between his left shoulder and his neck.  
Dom looks up at Matt, looking for yet another confirmation and the guitarist nods.  
It 's all the drummer needs. He opens his mouth and sinks his sharp canines into his boyfriend's flesh, softly and slowly, taking the first sips of that intoxicating nectar.  
Matthew smiles, enjoying the feeling and pushing the blond closer, stroking his nape.  
"Yes, baby, just like this ..." he purrs.  
Dom sucks and drinks his Sire's blood as a baby from a bottle and when he's done and separates, , Matt is almost upset.  
He loved that feeling.  
Dominic stares at him in wonder and Matthew guesses which one is the silent question.  
"Focus your mind on your human aspect and want it to reappear." he instructs him, stroking his face.  
Dominic follows this advice with success, then moves his tongue over two small holes on his partner's neck, lavishing them.  
"Mm." Matt murmurs in delight, before they stare at each other.  
The unexpected violence, the oh so intimate feeding, the blood.  
It's a mix too powerful for both.  
Dominic kisses furiously Matthew, opening up the rest of his shirt.  
Matthew runs a hand through his hair, and takes his jacket off, slipping the other hand under his sweater.  
"I want you. I must have you now! " Dom pants hard against his mate's lips, having a serious difficulty to control himself.  
Matt starts, breaking their contact.  
"Wait. You mean now ... here? "  
"Of course. Oh come on, you want it as much as I do! " Dom whispers in his ear.  
"Yes, but ..." Matt protests weakly, while his hands are already fidgeting with the blond's belt.  
"The girl is unconscious and will remain so for a while. '" the drummer chuckles, scratching his back with decision. "And if some nosy parkers arrive, we'll get rid of them easily!"  
"Do you mean that I hypnotize them, I make them forget everything and I send them away ... right?" Matt hazards.  
"It is not exactly what I mean. There are funnier and satisfying ways to get rid of undesired people." the drummer sneers evilly, while he undoes the singer's belt and lowers both their zips.  
"Damn, Dom, this is not you!" Matt scrutinizes him, shocked, but also excited by his new way of doing things.  
Or at least his demon is.  
"This is the new me!" Dom growls, regaining possession of Matthew's lips, hungrily, and the pianist realizes that he is trapped.  
Dom makes him turn, lowers their jeans and boxers enough and penetrates Matt with one vigorous push, making him scream in pain ... and indescribable pleasure.  
It 's brutal, it's filthy, it's violent, it is beastly, there is nothing sweet nor romantic, but both like it that way and their moans are the proof.  
Once they are satisfied, they set themselves and Dom comes back to the unconscious girl.  
"Hey, what are you doing? Aren't you sated yet? "Matt asks him, puzzled.  
"Of course I am, but I still want to take her life." Dominic smiles wickedly, running his tongue on his fangs that are back again  
Matthew smiles at him sweetly.  
"It's your first night as a vampire, love, and, after all that has happened, why should I spoil your fun?" he murmurs, giving his permission.  
The blond thanks him with his eyes and leans on the girl, ready to feast on her.  
"I'm sorry, baby." Matt whispers, slipping behind him.  
"For what?" Dom wonders, savoring the first sip.  
"For this!" Matt knocks him out with a blow on his head, inflicted with both hands clenched into fists.  
Dom fell on the ground unconscious and Matthew takes care of the girl, healing her wounds, noticing that her heart is still beating, judging her out of danger, and also bothering to call an ambulance, giving the exact info about where they are.  
He lifts the blond in his arms and disappears into the darkness, with only one thought in his mind, a frightening thought.  
\- _My nightmares were true: I killed Dom!_ -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dark!Dom is so bloody cool, don't you agree? ^^
> 
> Can I ask you to trust me? *O*
> 
>  
> 
> *runs away from a pissed off mob *


	25. XIX: No one knows who is in control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unexpected consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helooo, sorry for late, and thanks to whoever left the kudos ^^
> 
> Disclaimer : the title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ‘Ruled by secrecy’ by Muse
> 
> Warning: angst. Yep, this FF is a deceiver, ‘cause it introduced in my mind disguised as a funny and fluffy comedy, instead.... now I reached my personal record of angst in a story (okay, my standard were very low XD )
> 
> warning: no beta-ed yet and very quickly re-read, so sorry for all the mistakes :/ btw, I’m going to post the beat-ed version of last chapter soon ^^

 

  
While he’s still wondering how but mostly why such a thing could have happened so suddenly, Matthew runs through the alleys, with Dominic still unconscious, held in his arms.

Matt reaches an area of London that is much more crowded, where there are high chances to meet some fans, and maybe even some paparazzi.

Matthew notices that it is not convenient that someone sees him holding Dom in that way, so he immediately lays the blond on the ground, and then passes his arm around his shoulders, giving the impression to support him, while he keeps carrying him in that way.

Every time he has the unfortunate luck to meet someone on his way, the singer tells everyone that his drummer got drunk so outrageously it that now he is taking proper care of him, and it seems that it works as an excuse, because it would not certainly be the first time that such a thing happens for real.

In addition, this kind of situation makes the fans more reluctant to spend too much time with the frontman, who is so much more free to go on his way.

A few steps separate the guitarist from their house, when the brunet sees the shadows of two figures in front of him.  
With a slight bothered snort, Matt looks up, getting ready to tell yet another altered version of the facts.

"You know what, Dom had a few too many tonight and I have to ..." he begins, but stops immediately, as soon as he realises who he is talking to.

"I don’t know why, but for some reasons I do not believe that Dom is drunk!" a male, familiar voice exclaims.

"Michael, Rachel!" Matt says with a grin, happy to see them.

After all, he has just a couple of questions and they are the only ones who can give him the answers.

"Is he..? Did you already ...? " Rachel wavers, pointing with her index to the passed out blond, with a sweet smile.

"Yes, now he is one of us. I turned him yesterday. " Matt explains, while he’s trying to find the keys in his pocket.

"But I guess he's not sleeping by his choice, am I right?" Michael figures out, crossing his arms over his chest and questioning his Childe with his eyes.

"Yes, I. .. I knocked him out! "Matt mutters, opening the security door and entering the house. "Come in, here we can talk more freely!" he invites the other two vampires to follow him.

Once they are all protected within the walls, Matthew lies Dom down on the sofa with care, ensuring himself that he’s still unconscious, but the drummer does not seem to show the slightest sign of recovery.

"And why would you do that?" Rachel asks him, although she fears that she already knows why.

"I had to do it! He had totally  lost control and was becoming dangerous! " Matt explians, having no desire to recall those oh so painful memories.

"How much dangerous?" Michael questions him.

"Dangerous at the ‘the blood thirst has made me crazy and I'm going to kill my victims and I’ll even turn against my own Sire, if necessary!’ level'" Matt replies.

Michael and Rachel exchange a worried look and Matt notices that.

"We're too late." the beautiful vampire asserts.

"Does it mean that the you knew that this would happen?" the pianist interrogates them.

"Yes, there was a high number of chances. Let's say 50% and 50%! "Rachel informs him.

"Bloody hell! What the fuck were waiting for to tell me something so fucking important? "Matt snaps, raising his voice.

"I was about to let you know, the last time you've visited us, but you've gone without listening" his Sire retorts.

"Well, then you should have insisted to make me hear what you had to say!" the frontman growls in frustration. "Look what I've done!" he adds with a sigh, turning his gaze to the  passed out blond.

"But it wasn't  your fault for sure, dear!"  Rachel comforts him, while she is about to reach the pianist to give him a pat on the shoulder, but Matthew dodges her rather abruptly, since he is still too angry with them.

"How the hell can you say that is not my fault? I am the monster who did this to him, he has done something so horrible to a creature so pure and full of goodness as Dom ... or rather, as it was. And now I have turned his biggest nightmare come true! "Crying desperately.

"But on one thing, after all, to think of it, you're right: it is not my fault." He adds, in a sort of personal, weird awareness, before lashing out at Michael. "It's your fault, it's just the damn your fault! You knew and you did not say anything! "He continues, punching the expert vampire's chest, passionately and relentlessly.

 

  
Michael lets him vent his anger for a while, and even Rachel doesn't stop him, but then his Sire gets tired and stops  his youngest Childe's wrists  in his iron grip.

"Now, Childe,  calm the fuck down and listen carefully to what I have to tell you!" he growls in warning and Matt nods, giving in.

"You're still too young and inexperienced to be a proper Sire, you've been a vampire only for a few months, not even a whole year, and this can make the process of transformation of a human into a vampire very unstable and unpredictable"  Michael reveals and Matthew listens very carefully to him, with quiet attitude, then he has a sort epiphany.

"That 's what you meant when you said that Dom could be weaker!" he asserts, without a questioning tone, because it’s not a question.

"Exactly. This does not mean that it must necessarily happen, but in your case it happened and now you have to be ready to face the consequences! "the  Spanish vampire sentences.

"What? But ... I just can't!  He's my Childe. But above all, he is the love of my entire life! " the English retorts.

"Yeah, and that's why you need to take care of it!"  the oldest vampire insists.

"Nope, in any way, there will not be any intention to put a stake through his heart to ensure to his soul eternal peace or shit like that. No one will touch a hair of Dom's, I will protect him, no matter what, even if I have to face you both! "Matt fiercely growls, placing himself in front of the sofa where  Dominic lies and making shield with his body, feeling as protective as a lioness who defends her cubs.

"What part of 'you have to take care of it' didn't you get?" Rachel asks him patiently.

"Huh?" Matt looks at them confused.

"Neither of us wants you to do such a thing to Dominic" she reassures him with a sweet smile.

Matthew continues to look at them with disbelief.

"You said that you do not want any vampire under your custody to kill the innocent people!" he recalls.

"It 's true, I do not want to, but there are far less drastic measures that choose to make the vampires just dust!"  Michael says.

"He's right, Matthew. Don't you remember one of the first speeches that we have had, about a Sire and his Childe? It is up to the Sire forge his childe's behavior and you do not want Dom to become evil, do you? "Rachel goes on.

"Of course I don't, but ... I'm afraid that he already is."  the guitarist mutters sadly.

"No, he is not yet. He's only under  his demon's influence and he is too weak to fight it. Your task is to give him this force, teaching him  how to keep his demon at bay, as you can deal with yours. The first few days of non-life are basic for the formation of the behaviour, and if you fail Dominic will be considered irrecoverable and dangerous to all intents and then you will have to consider more drastic measures! "Michael warns him, in a solemn tone.

"I will not fail!"  Matt growls with determination.

"I know, dear, and this is the right spirit. But you have to prove you're inflexible. Dom, i mean, not him, but his demon, he will attempt to make his reasons prevail  and he'll want you to you share his point of view and he won't like your attempts of obstruction. Dominic  will be hostile, will reserve you the deepest contempt, they won't be aeasy days at all!" Rachel anticipates to him, darkening her face.

"I will face everything at all ... and I'll be stronger than the ad-adversity!" Matt replies with a slight hesitation in his voice.

"Of course Matt, you will!"  the Spanish vampire encourages him. "Okay, first things first, let's get out of here!" he adds.

"What?" teh guitarist frowns.

"To begin with, this is not the safest place to keep Dom." she explains.

  
"So where do you think I should  keep him?" Matt questions him.

Michael  chuckles amused.

"Where do you think that Rachel and I will spend the day?" he winks.

"Let me guess. Another abandoned house? " the singer hazards with a sly smile.

"I would not say it is utterly abandoned if we come back there again and again, each time we are in London ... and we visit London frequently, there is such excellent blood here!" Rachel giggles cheerful.

"Yeah, plus it's in a fairly isolated area, which will give us the right privacy. Now, everyone to my car! " their Sire instructs them.

While Matthew approaches to  Dominic, he realizes that the blond  is about to wake up, since he started making imperceptible movements, but not at a vampire's supernatural eyes.  
In fact, even Rachel noticed that and she hits Dom with a punch on his head, so fast that Matt doesn't even manage to see her.

"Hey!" the pianist growls, not liking that gesture towards his beloved mate.

"Trust me, you would not have wanted to see Dom awake right now, at least we will make the journey alone. After all, it was a light blow, it will take little him a little  more than a quarter of an hour to recover. Just the time we need. " she justifies.

"Hmm, okay then ..." Matt mutters, not fully convinced, picking the drummer, unconscious once again.

"Just one question, Matthew, where the hell did you learn to punch?"  Michael wonders, as he passes a hand on his chest on which there are some slight bruises, visible from the white,  half unbuttoned shirt.

"You know, Teignmouth is not the best of places to spend adolescence in. I had to learn how to defend myself and fists after fist I did! " the English shrugs.

/

They arrive at the two expert vampires ‘usual mansion.

The two bring their guest and his Childe in a sort of living room, but it's very peculiar, because of some not very normal furnishing , that Matthew immediately notices.

"Chains?" he raises his eyebrow, while examining the chains, the wall they're hanging from and the ends to wrap around the wrists and the ankles.

"Yes, it is fun when you want to play the victim and the executioner!" Rachel confesses, sticking  her tongue out, as she recalls some memories with her lusty Sire.

"But in this case they will be very useful for many other purposes!" she adds, with a serious face.

Matthew winces, clutching Dom tighter.

"What?! First, you tell me that I have to train Dom, almost as if he was a dog ... and now you ask me to tie him up, like a wild beast? " the brunet protests, outraged.

"He * is * a wild beast!" Rachel strikes back, growling. "You want to help him, do not you?"

"Yes ..."

"So  do as I told you!"  she intimates with unexpected authority and, even if reluctantly, he obeys and tightens the chains around Dom's wrists and ankles, making the blond put his head against the wall.

At the conclusion of his work, Matt takes a chair nearby and places himself in front of his boyfriend.

Matt doesn't have to wait for too long, because after few minutes, with a hint of metallic creak , Dom begins to move, opening his eyes with difficulty.

"Dom"  Matt gets immediately closer to him, smiling, bringing a hand to stroke the drummer's face, but the other moves away furiously, with a snarl.

Looking better, Matthew understands everything. The ice in his eyes is unmistakable; Dominic, * his * Dominic, has never stared at him in that horrible way.

It 's still his demon to have the utter supremacy, Dominic is only its case.

The blond takes a look around and then laughs scornfully.

"Bravo, Sire, bravo! You called your precious little friends because you needed reinforcements to hold this big bad guy off!" he mocks him, in a tone of contempt, pulling the chains uselessly.

"Look, I haven’t called any-bloody-one, they have come on their own free will! However, it is undeniable that you need help! " Matt retorts.

"I do not think so, I just need for freedom and instead you joined forces with them and you betrayed me. You make me sick! " the blond hisses and spits on the brunet’s cheek.

Undaunted, Matt wipes it with the back of his hand, and then gives Dom a powerful slap with the other hand.

"Stupid, insolent and ungrateful guy! I did it only for your own good! Do you think I enjoy seeing you like that? " Matt growls at him, screaming with tears in his eyes.

Dominic laughs scornfully, especially when he realises that he’s losing blood from the corner of his mouth, which he cleans off by running his tongue over it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry if I'm not the joyful, kindhearted, little vampire that you wanted so much as your personal sex toy!" Dom pretends to apologise, but his tone is full of hatred.

"Oh, no. Dom, no.. how can you tell me such awful things? "Matt protests weakly, with words that die in his throat, feeling suffocated even if breathing is the least of his problems.

"Because he’s not himself right now and you tend to forget it a little too often, for the record!" Rachel comes to his rescue, followed by her partner.

"Oh, here's another personal sex toy, you're his!" Dominic comments acidly, pointing at Michael with his eyes.

Hearing a mighty growl, a fraction of a second after Dominic finds the Spanish vampire a few millimeters from his face,  and he’s looking anything but peaceful, with his dangerous fangs fully bared.

"Don’t you ever dare to turn to her in such a way. She is my queen and you have to show respect to her, just as you must do with me, I'm your Grand Sire, " Michael growls at him, but then realises that both Dom and Matt are staring at him perplexed.

"It’s the way you call your Sire’s Sire!" the older vampire clarifies and they nod.

"You can call it whatever you like, I will always see you and your partner like the guys who have fucked our  existence up. Damn nosey parkers, we were bloody fine without you! " Dom snaps, angry.

"Oh yes, of course, you were alright: Matt was gradually killing himself day after day and you were torn from seeing him die out like that, without being able to do anything to help him!" Rachel puts Dom  in trouble, not offended by his words at all, perhaps because she is the only one that really keeps in mind the current situation of the poor drummer who she had found pleasant since she had messed up his hair during their very first meeting, with the promise that she would do something for him.

And she has kept that promise.

Michael growls again, in order to draw the blond’s attention.

"I’ve already told you that you must change your attitude and you must show respect, especially to me!"

"Why?" Dom challenges him, staring at the Spanish guy with disdain, but Dom captures something in his interlocutor’s eyes that freezes the blood in his veins.

"Because you do not know what I can do!" the fascinating Spanish vampire hisses glacially.

Dominic nods, bowing his head to the floor and he doesn’t dare to make any bitter or rude remark anymore.

"I can’t believe it! He fears you! " Matthew  says astonished, turning to his sire.

"And who would not fear me?" Michael grins arrogantly, running a hand through his own hair.

"I guess that this day has drained us all, Michael and I because of the journey and you, Matthew,  for all the emotions that you have felt, from the most beautiful to the most ugly ones!" Rachel sentences wisely.  
"As a matter of fact, yes, I'm worn out!" Matthew admits, stretching and yawning loudly.

"Well, upstairs you'll find the guest rooms, I'm sure you'll be fine!" Michael instructs him.

"Hey! The three of you! You are not going to leave me here, are you?” Dom yells, pulling the chains once more.

"Of course I am!" Rachel replies pungently.

"But ..." Matthew hesitates, not agreeing with that decision at all, but Michael puts his hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me, a bit of isolation can only benefits him. Plus, there's no way he can get rid of those chains, he’ll get tired even before trying! "Michael assures the pianist.

"And there is no danger that the sun comes inside, the whole house is conveniently obscured" Rachel adds, pushing Matt towards the stairs.

"But ..." the guitarist hesitates again, casting a last look at the drummer who turns angrily elsewhere.

"Trust me, this is the best thing to do!" Rachel murmurs, persuading Matt to go and she takes him in one of the rooms where he can enjoy some more than deserved rest.

 /

It 'a call to awake Matt, the call of his own blood, added to a quiet sobbing that he hears coming from downstairs.  
Without too many pleasantries and totally forgetful of the prohibitions imposed by his Sire and his partner, who are still sleeping placidly in their room, Matthew rushes to the living room.

"Hey, baby, what's wrong?" he murmurs, approaching.

Yanking the chains more than he can, Dom throws himself against Matt’s chest, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck.

"Oh, Matthew, thanks God, you're here, honey! I felt your presence around here ... but I couldn’t see  you, I did not know where I was. I still don’t know where I am, or because I’m chained. Mattie, what's happening? " Dom yelps frightened, squeezing the guitarist tighter.

Matt moves away from him gently so he can stare into his eyes and the singer meets the sweet and gentle iris with the color of a stormy sea that Matthew adores and they seem to adore him.

"You're back!" Matthew exclaims happy, stroking his face with reverence, not finding, however, that contact so satisfying as it is the sweet and tender kiss that comes a few moments later.

"You do not remember anything from the night before, didn’t you?" the brunet questions the blond, at the end of the kiss, moving the golden lock away from the drummer’s face.

"I just remember that you took me hunting ... and then it’s utter emptiness, what happened next? Maybe have we been caught by someone? " the percussionist grows agitated, stroking his own neck, which leads him to consider another disturbing fact.

"I don’t have my necklace anymore! And you no longer have yours!” the younger vampire gets further alarmed, staring at his Sire more carefully.

"Dommie, calm down. For one thing, no, no one has caught us, because, c’mon,  don’t you find it strange that I can walk around the house for free, but  most of all I have the keys to free you? " Matthew points out, pulling from the pocket of his shirt the keys who can actually free Dom from his chains.

"And no one has taken the pendants away from us. For some time we’ll stay here, where the sun can not harm us. It’s me who took your pendant off, while you were unconscious, it’s a good measure to prevent you from getting far. And to be as supportive as possible, I took off my necklace, too. When we wear them again, we'll do it together! " the frontman explains.

"I understand, but .. preventive measure for what? And why are you not chained like me?”  Dom, asks him, with the most bewildered look.

Matthew holds both of the blond’s hands in his, trying to find the proper words.

"Because, my Dominic, right now you're ... your own prisoner." he asserts.

"What do you mean?" Dominic goggles his eyes, not understanding the meaning of that answer.

"Now I'll tell you everything, but first ..." his boyfriend pauses to inser the key into the slot. "I hope Michael and Rachel will forgive me, but I can’t see you like this, not now ... and I think I can trust you!" he mutters, and then he repeats the same actions with the other three slots that are identical.

Once he’s finally free, Dom rubs his wrists and ankles, then snuggles closer to Matt, sitting on the floor with him.  
/  
"And that's why they advised me to bring you here. You already know the rest of the story! "Matthew concludes his report.

"It 's like in my nightmare! I knew it was a warning! " the drummer despairs.

"Nope,that's not true. Perhaps the premises are similar, but we will change the ending. Remember? Every now and then I sing about it: together we are invincible! " the pianist makes Dom smile.

It 's a fleeting smile for both of the lovers.

"By the way, what happened to you is all my fault, You've heard me before, right? It 's the fact that I'm still a vampire so young and inexperienced what made you so unstable and under the control of your demon. If only I had chosen for you a  more experienced Sire, maybe .. " Matt comments, but Dom places  two fingers on his mouth to silence him.

"No, Matt, you do not have any guilt. I would have never accepted such a thing and you would have never wanted it, we both know it. I do not regret my choice, but I'm afraid of this new obstacle! " the blond sighs heavily.

"You shouldn't, if we work hard, we will overcome this. We couldn't be luckier than this. Until the end of this  month we have no show, this gives us the necessary time. Dominic James Howard, I will do everything in my power to make you a better vampire! " the brunet smiles at him.

"I could not ask for a better Sire!" Dominic hugs the frontman, giving him a noisy kiss.

"But... what's going on here? " Rachel mumbles, coming from upstairs, still a little sleepy.

Probably that chatter must have waken her up ... that and the fact that it is almost sunset.

"Hey! Why did you released him, Matt? Are you nuts?" the vampiress reproaches him, now totally awake.

"During the day he becomes himself again, I have nothing to fear." Matthew justifies.

"Really? This is great news! " the brunette beams, approaching to Dominic.

"Matthew told me what I did or said yesterday and I wanted to tell you .."  Dom begins, but Rachel stops him with a simple gesture of her hand.

"Nope, there is no need, puppy!" she smiles gently at him, then heads back to the stairs. "I can't wait to give Michael the great news!" she proclaims, with the enthusiasm of a child.

  
/  
“So, during the day you regain the control of your actions." Michael summarizes, stroking his chin and Dom nods.

"Just like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!" Matthew says.

"Who?" both Michael and Rachel look at him confused.

"Why, don’t you know the story? What bloody movies have you rented so far? You miss all the great classics! "the brunet snorts. "However, it is the story of a scientist who applies to himself a potion that turns him into his alter ego at night, which is more easy-going, but also more evil!" he explains briefly.

"Yes, it is similar to what is happening to you, Dom, but instead of a potion it’s the hunger, the vampire’s hunger, I mean, to trigger this exchange." the Spanish vampire clarifies. "However, it’s good to know that you are not under your demon’s continuous possession. This could also allow you to get out during the day, if you want to. "he says.

"No. It 's all so unpredictable that I don’t even dare to think what could happen if I fell at my demon’s mercy during the day, having the pendant at my disposal. Moreover it is only a few days, I’d better remain locked here. It’s safer for everyone. “ Dominic explains wisely.

"Yes, I think so, it’s the best solution." Rachel approves. "Well, now it’s almost night. We’ll think about the dinner and bring something to you; Matt, stay here with Dom " the vampiress advises him, going out with her Sire.

"There are just a couple of hours, maybe less, before he arrives ..." Dom mutters, feeling uncomfortable.

"Dommie, you really don’t realise anything at all ... when he comes, do you?" Matt asks him cautiously.

"Nope, it's fucking horrible, it's as if I was thrown into a corner of my mind, with the door locked, and I have no idea about what the hell is going on out there." the drummer explains, scared.

"It's a matter of time. We will try and try again and I’ll be able to give you the key to get out. The two of you will learn to coexist like I do with my demon!" Matt cheers him up, full of enthusiasm and optimism. "Do you remember when you had to deal with my demon? He’s not a great funny guy either, that’s for sure! "he goes on, stealing a smile from Dom.

"Oh, Mattie, what would I do without you?" the blond caresses the singer’s cheek with the back of his hand.

"I won’t ever let you find out, Dommeh" Matt whispers, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss that makes them pleasantly spend a bit of time.

"You’d better prepare me ... time is running out." Dom sighs, staring at the clock that marks 10:30 p.m.

Matthew nods and, as the blond wishes, the frontman chains him again.

/

Time passes and as soon as the atavistic hunger grips Dom’s bowels, the poor drummer goes through that unpleasant change again and Matthew can figure that out by the way Dominic looks at him, by the way he speaks to him and by his deep disdain.

Sitting upstairs, Michael and Rachel monitor everything.

All of a sudden, Matt takes a different light in Dominic’s eyes, which now are more accommodating and even the tone of his voice softens.

"Mattie, do you remember when you said you'd given up anything to have me with you forever?" the blond meows, leaning close to the brunet as much as he can.

Matthew nods smiling, happy to see some sort of progress in him.

"Well, give up your soul, then. Free me and free yourself, let’s give in to our true nature and follow our undisclosed instincts in the depths, now we are deadly and powerful predators. Matteh, my love, think about it, we could be happy as we've ever been. " Dom continues his speech, casting a spell on his interlocutor, with his eyes and especially with his words.

Yes, because at the very end Matt’s demon is very intrigued by that speech, tickled by the idea, fascinated by that prospect.

"Did you hear him? These are the same things that I used to tell you at the beginning. Looking back, I almost miss the old days!" Michael chuckles, while he observes them, before his mate’s elbow punctually reaches his stomach

"Shut up and do not be stupid! You know better than me that this is the way we must behave! "she says angrily. "By the way, I'm not liking at all Matt's reaction ..." she says, worried, ready to intervene.

Matthew approaches further to Dom, smiling in a creepy way, which electrifies the blond, even more so when he finds himself involved in a fierce, hungry and violent kiss, and the blond kisses his mate back in the same rude way.

"Is it a ‘Yes’, then? Will you free me and will we go on our way?" the blond asks him, at the apex of excitement, as soon as they part from each other.

"No fucking way!" Matt grins, leaving Dom dumbfounded with his answer.

"But how ...?" the younger vampire stares at him confused.

  
"Did you see, my love? False alarm! " Michael comments, turning to his Childe.

"I’m glad it is!" she smiles.

  
“It wouldn’t be the Dominic I love and it’s the Dominic I love who I want with me forever. I won’t let you become a soulless serial killer who slaughters tons of innocents. I will not do anything that can harm you!" Matthew sentences impassive, subjugating even his own demon.

"You already did!" Dom hisses acidly, as his eyes becomes two glacial fissures again, filled with hatred.

Matt is wounded but he doesn’t show it, as a matter of fact, he smiles.

"I know it’s not the real you talking to me right now, it's just your demon." the pianist says, and then he leaves and returns a few minutes later, holding something.

"Anyway, you should feed now!" the singer says, holding a glass of fresh blood from a prey who Michael and Rachel have appropriately captured.

Dom snatches it from Matt’s hand with a kick, smashing the glass against the wall.

"A proper vampire does not feed that way, I want to go hunting!" he growls, angry.

"Look at the mess you've done!" Matt scolds him, then looks up. "Sorry, guys!" he says to the vampires upstairs.

"As if it was the first time that it happens!" Rachel shrugs, going to clean up everything.

"Forget the hunt, you're not ready for that and until you do not cooperate you never will! If you want to let yourself die of hunger, it's your choice! "Matt exclaims, who, contrary to Dom,  has already had the opportunity to feed, alternating with Rachel and Michael in overseeing Dominic.

"Fine!" Dom hisses, stubborn and enraged.

"Fine!" Matt repeats, defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest.

  
/

After three hours that Matt spends watching over Dom tirelessly, suffering passively all the insults which Dom covers him with, the blond seems to calm down, perhaps because of the painful withdrawal that drains all the drummer’s strength.

"Matthew, can we ... can we try that thing of the glass, again?" he asks the brunet very politely, with a whisper.

His sire satisfies him, returning with the craved glass, and Dom is so exhausted that Matt  has to feed him, with infinite patience, tilting the glass to his mouth, assuring himself that Dom drinks.

"It's not so bad." Dom murmurs, savoring every sip.

By the way the blond looks at the brunet and the way he thanks him, Matthew can see something of his Dom, even if it is immediately replaced by the blond’s usual rancor, but it’s enough to give the singer the strength to continue.

The road to Dom’s full recovery is just at its beginning and Matthew knows that very well, but he feels determined as he’s never been in his life.

\- _Dominic, I swear that I will bring you back to me!_ -

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you’ll still like it, but pleeease let me know whatever you think ^^


	26. XX: Don't give up the fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew and Dominic keep dealing with the situation …who is going to win?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading and commenting ^^
> 
> Not beta-ed and quickly re-read so sooooorryyyyy for all the horrible mistakes :/
> 
> Disclaimer: the title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ‘Invincible ‘ <3 , by Muse

 

The next morning, around noon, Matthew wakes up, feeling a slight weight on his lap.  
Looking down, he realizes that it’s nothing but Dominic's head, who is still sleeping soundly.

As he was watching over the blond, Matt fell asleep sitting with his back against the wall, close to the drummer who, on dawn, pulling on the chains until as far as he could, managed to get that oh so painfully craved contact.

Matthew strokes his hair gently, a touch that is too much light for the other one to wake up.  
But Matt entrusts that task to the kiss on his lips that follows within a few minutes, then he wraps his lover in his arms.

Dominic squeezes his eyes several times, before opening them. The darkness envelops them completely, since there are several thick curtains that are scattered throughout the house, in order to protect them from the rays of sun since now situation would be lethal to the two lovers, but, as it is easy to guess, the blond can see his mate with great ease.

"Matthew." he murmurs, smiling sweetly, still a little sleepy.

He tries to stretch out, but this makes him stretch the chains over the allowed limit, thereby preventing him from such a spontaneous movement. This is enough to remind him of the state in which he is.

Immediately after, Dom no longer feels the soft embrace of his beloved to comfort him, but only the cold floor, but the clank of keys that turn in the locks gives him the answer about the brunet’s temporary absence.

"I do not know about you, baby, but I slept like crap!" the singer says, going back to him and also freeing the last chain that imprisons him.

Without even time to reply, the drummer feels himself lift in the guitarist's arms.

"I guess that we deserve some proper rest, don’t you think so?" Matt winks, climbing the stairs to the room that was kindly provided by Michael and Rachel.

Once he reaches his destination, Matt lays Dom gently on the big double bed, pushing the covers for both.

"But Mattie ... I should not stay here!" Dom finds the strength to protest

"It 's day. And it will be daylight for a long time. And during the day I can keep you with me. And I have every intention of doing it! "Matt murmurs, accompanying every sentence with a little kiss on the blond’ s face, slipping under the covers, happy to see the drummer  imitate his actions.

"Now let’s sleep. It's still so early .. "Matt mumbles,  holding Dom to his chest, protectively, wrapping an arm around his waist.

After all, the younger vampire is more than happy to curl up next to his Sire, his hands clutching the hem of his shirt, before falling as deeply asleep as his beloved boyfriend has already done.

/

“You’re nuts!” Dominic blurts out, punching Matt on the chest, as soon as he wakes up and makes his mind about where he is and what happened.

"It's not the kind of awakening that I had imagined, but I will get content with this!" Matthew mutters, waking up abruptly and looking at his watch.

It's four o'clock in the afternoon and it seems a more than acceptable time of the day.

"And , tell me, why am I supposed to be a fool?" he questions his Childe, as he rubs his chest and sits down on the bed.

"Why did you stay watching over me all night? You have no idea of what you risked!" explains Dom, drumming his fingers nervously on the mattress. "You shouldn’t trust me, not when he's there ..." he mutters, nervous.

"I think I can judge on my own what I can or can’t do!" Matt grumbles, not liking where that that topic is leading them.

"You do not understand! You fell asleep so close ... so close that I could easily reach your neck, breaking it, drinking until I would have drained you, or who knows what else! " the blond tries to reason with him, trembling at the thought of those dreadful possibilities.

"It seems that nothing like this has happened. It 's true, you reached me, but only to sleep on my lap. If you wanted to kill me with tenderness, you succeeded! " the brunet smiles, stroking his hair.

Dom parts sharply from him, getting up from the bed.

"Dammit, Bells! You can’t always take everything with such light-heartedness! " he growls at him in disappointment. "Probably this time you were lucky because my demon was somehow grateful to you, since you gave him that glass of blood!"  Dom looks for a rational explanation, without even realising what he is saying.

But Matt did, so he jumps out of bed, jolting and reaching the drummer in a heartbeat.

"Bloody hell! Dominic, that's exactly what happened yesterday ... and you remember it! "h observes astonished.

"You're right!"

"And do you remember anything else?" the brunet asks him.

The blond concentrates deeply, until something emerges in his memory.

"I do not know, there's nothing clear ... but I remember telling you some things, although I do not remember what... I wanted you to unleash me!" Dominic mutters, making a great effort.

"Yes, baby, it’s just like that!" Matt hugs him happy. "I think it's a good sign that you begin to remember something, but we will know for sure asking Michael and Rachel as soon as they wake up." he says.

"It will take at least a couple of hours yet." the percussionist says.

"Yeah ... we have to invent something to spend some time." Matt nods, allusive, indicating that big bed, still so intact, with his eyes.

"I know what to do!" Dom enlightens "I saw that downstairs there is a TV and on on MTV at this time there’s a show of bands, many times there is also something that is worth listening to!" he continues with excitement.

"But, Dommie, you have such a terrible taste in music!" the guitarist snorts.

"You're right ... as a matter of fact, I play in your band!"  Dom teases the brunet, before running off.

"Come here, you little insolent, you’ll pay for this!" Matt growls playfully, chasing him.

They descend downstairs and among several giggles, they merely chase each other along corridors and rooms they don’t even know about their existence, but when they come back in the direction of the living room, Matthew manages to track Dominic down and pushes the blond with him on the couch.

"You got me. What is my punishment? "Dom challenges Matt with his eyes, pressed beneath him.

"Kiss me until I leave you breathless!" Matt smiles persuasive, his face close to Dom’s.

"I don’t think I’ll have such a problem!" the blond chuckles.

"That’s better!" the brunet grins, before doing what he promised.

They kiss passionately and savagely for what seems like forever.

It’s Dominic the first to interrupt, looking at his mate with a melancholy attitude.

"Oh, Matteh, I wish things between us were always like this" he sighs sadly, sitting on the couch.

"Don’t fear, they will." his partner ensures the drummer, serious, sitting down next to him.

"And what if it wasn’t so? What if my demon had no intention to get a grip? What are the alternatives? To continue to make me have this cloistered existence? " the other grieves.

"Do not overdo.. it will be enough not to allow you to hang around after midnight! "Matt plays down.

"And what am I? A sort of Cinderella in a dark version, which ‘d better run away and go back to her castle after midnight? " Dom blurts, and then he stares at his partner and changes his mood utterly. "If it’s so, then you are the Fairy Godmother who did this to me!" he bursts out laughing, contaminating even his beloved.

"And you dare to say that I am the one who took things too with too much light-heartedness, right?" Matthew pretends to scold him, but the truth is that he admires his spirit that, despite such a dark moment, still finds the strength to be ironic.

"You are my light-heartedness!" Dom shows a radiant smile, stealing a quick kiss, before turning the TV on.

/

They are engaged to review yet another video projection, Dominic, thrilled, as he lists all the pros and Matthew, intolerant, as he makes a list of faults, when the lights switch on suddenly.

"Finally someone that when you say 'Go ahead, as if you were at home' ... does it for real!" Michael states, approaching them.

As a reflex, Dominic looks for shield behind Matt, tense and restless.

"Am I really so scary?" the oldest vampire chuckles.

"I am sure that sooner or later he will get accustomed to that!” Matt shrugs. "Please, excuse us if we woke you up!"

"It was not you, rather the sunset!" Michael smiles.

"So, puppy,  do you feel a little better today?" Rachel whispers, which seems to have appeared out of nowhere, with a voice as sweet as honey, as she strokes Dom’s face, which does not shy away from her  touch, but he pushes forward and smiles at her, nodding.

"Well, looks like someone is very skilled when it’s a matter to sooth people!" the vampiress says with fake arrogance, casting a challenging look to  Michael, while she is checking her long, red polished, fingernails.

"Why are you able to calm him down and I’m not?" Michael mutters, not liking that defeat.

"Gran Childe, you must learn not to be afraid of me!" he summons Dom with roaring voice, looking at him sternly.

Dominic nods, trembling and clutching tighter to Matt.

"Oh yes, genius, I think this is the most suitable way not to make him afraid of you!" the pretty brunette mocks her boyfriend.

"Matthew, at least you, teach your Childe to have respect for you, I think I have failed miserably in this task!" Michael mutters, receiving a playful punch on his shoulder by Rachel.

Dominic lets out a small laugh, seeing such a scene.

"Good, that's how I like to see you!" Michael smiles and, for the first time, Dominic does not seem so disturbed.

"Let's move on to more serious things, guys, you can’t begin to imagine what I am about to reveal to you!" Matthew announces with a big grin.  
/  
"So you can remember some things that happen at night." Michael resumes at the end of their report, looking at Dominic.

"Yes, even if they are only vague images ... is it a good thing?"  the blond wonders, encouraged by the smile that the Spanish shows.

"Oh yes, of course it is. It means that, little by little, your demon and your soul are finding the basic for coexistence which will hopefully be as serene as possible! " his Grand Sire informs him.

"Wow, that's great!"  Matt cheers. "Dom, maybe tonight you will be a little more malleable!"

/

When you say 'famous last words'.

That night, as soon as the usual metamorphosis triggers and the demon monopolizes the poor Dominic’s body, he becomes even ruder and more irritating towards Matt, but now the brunet has found the right key to interact with him.

"Yeah, yeah, that you told me yesterday. And the day before that. You're pretty predictable, you know? "he teases the blond, looking amused.

 Dominic lets out a long growl of frustration, yanking his chains with more violence.

 This only entertains Matthew even more.

 He’s been watching over Dom for three hours and he walks away momentarily, returning with a cup filled with blood.

He approaches cautiously to Dominic, which this time proves to be much more docile, accepting the kind offer on the first attempt, drinking greedily until he empties it completely.

"That's not true!" Dom hisses, after the last sip, licking his lips still smeared with the crimson liquid.

"What?" Matthew asks him, placing the cup on the table, trying not to show Dom how that vision has excited him.

"We’ll never melt , me and the stupid soul. There will be no coexistence. It will never happen! " the blond perjures acidly, his eyes flashing fluorescent green.

 It's another thing that turns Matt on, a lot.

"It's already happening!" the brunet singsongs, approaching the younger vampire without any fear.

"What are you saying?" the other growls.

"Think about it. You’re talking about a topic that belongs to before, when you weren’t even supposed to be there, right? And as you begin to be weakly present during the day, the soul begins to be already here at night. Soon, or maybe not so soon, I grant you that you will become one thing and then you will find the right balance! "

"Never! It’s never gonna happen! I shall have absolute dominion! " the younger vampire insists, wriggling.

"Convince yourself as much as you please!" Matt shrugs, with total indifference, going to the stairs.

 Dominic suddenly loses all his fighting spirit.

"Hey, wait ... where are you going?" he sulks.

"Away from you, because you were the one to ask for this!" the expert vampire informs him.

"But ..." the blond protestes weakly.

"I’ve already feed you and dawn will come soon, you will be tired even before you can realize it!" the brunet goes on. "'Night, Dommie, I'll pick you up in the morning ... when you'll be back!" the pianist waves his farewell.

"Yeah, that’s fine, go away. Leave me alone! After all, I do not need anyone, least of all you! " Dominic yells, poisonous, watching him disappear upstairs.

 Matthew smiles satisfied, especially when he hears the screams turn into  a soft whimper.

 -Oh yes, of course, it’s the typical attitude to tell me that you do not need me, my dear grumpy demon!-

 After all, that one can be considered a small victory.

/

When, as promised, in late morning Matthew goes downstairs to free Dominic, he is already awake and smiling.

"For once, you listened at me. Bravo! " he congratulates once he’s free and clings to Matthew, with his arms wrapped around the pianist’s neck, while he takes the percussionist to what is now their room, at least temporarily.

"As if I never listened at you!" Matthew snaps, as he lies Dom down on the mattress, before going to bed at his side.

"We won’t start a discussion that could last for centuries!" Dom strikes back, lying down on his side.

"Right,  let’s not start it. Let’s sleep, only sleep. Come here, baby," Matt murmurs, pulling Dom to himself and stroking his nape, as the blond leans his head against Matt’s chest.

They both fall instantly into a deep sleep without dreams, but mostly without nightmares.

/

It's five o'clock in the afternoon, when Dominic wakes up and the first thing he decides to do is taking possession of Matt’s lips,  which, although he’ s still sleeping placidly, unconsciously responds to the kiss.

Without breaking the contact, Dom places himself more comfortably onto his mate, beginning to stroke his skinny chest, through the cotton T-shirt.

All those delicate attentions make the brunet vampire murmur happily and then he decides to open his eyes and focus on his 'aggressor'.

"Mm. These are the awakening that I like! "he murmurs, deepening the kiss, before being interrupted by the sound of torn fabric.

"Bloody hell, Dom! " Matthew exclaims, stunned, seeing his T-shirt in tatters.

"I'm sorry, but I could not resist, I needed more contact!" the blond justifies.

"Well, but you could ask me to remove it, couldn’t you?" the other retorts.

"But it is so much more fun like this, isn’t it?" the blond winks, leaning on his beloved’s chest to trace it with a long lick, from the navel to his chin and vice versa.

"Bugger my T-shirt!" Matt growls excited, changing roles, with a lightning-fast game of kidneys.

"Do you care about your shirt?" the singer interrogates the drummer.

"Not too much, I bought it in a ..."

  
The drummer doesn't even need to finish the answer, seeing that poor garment tore apart.  
   
"You're right, it's fun!" Matt chuckles, tracing with delicate kisses every inch of the exposed skin.  
   
"Matthew, I want to make love with you, now!" the blond insitgates him, burying his hands in his messy hair.  
   
"Yep, I guessed so!" the guitarist raises an eyebrow , amused.  
   
"And I want to make it slow, sweet and tender. There is already ... the other one who is so violent!" the blond rolls his eyes.  
   
"Yes, I think we can do that, too!" Matt smiles at the drummer, stroking his soft hair  
   
"Yes, but I do not just want this!" Dom informs him, as he begins to deal with both Matt's belt and his own.  
   
"And what do you want?" Matt asks him, helping to free both from those impediments.  
   
"I want you to do that thing ... what did you call? Claim, right? "Dom mutters , abandoning himself to the brunet's caresses between his legs.

Matthew's eyes flash blue unnatural in surprise.  
   
"Dominic! Are you sure? "

"Like I've never been surer of anything in all my life. Matthew, as soon as there is still time to do it, I want to give my whole self to you: body, soul and blood." the younger vampire whispers, kissing him.  
   
"And I want to do the same thing with you, my love!"  the frontman approves.  
   
It 's just a matter of looks,  before their boxers, the last remaining obstacle between their bodies, reach the floor.  
   
Just like Dominic' s express request , it's all sweet and slow, unhurried, without a scratch, a bruise, a pinch, while Matt  slips inside his  lover as gently as possible, extending their mutual ecstasy with every movement.  
   
When  they both feel that they are close to reaching the climax, they let emerge simultaneously what is now their true nature and with conviction they sink their fangs into each other's neck, savoring their blood, doubling their pleasure with every sip.  
   
Matthew has never tasted  Dom's blood after his rebirth, while Dominic did, but he does not have the memory.  
   
For this reason, it's an unforgettable experience for both of the vampires.  
   
"Mine!"  Matthew proclaims, still inside Dom, pulling his fangs and licking the two small punctures to heal them.  
   
"Mine!" Dominic echoes, welcoming the result of their passion inside him, gladly; scarring lovingly with his tongue the two small holes that he practiced on Matt.  
   
They enjoy for a while 'that special moment, in devout silence, embracing each other.

"Can we do it again sometimes?" Dominic wonders, breathing heavily, as soon as he recovers.  
   
"Every time we will have the desire, and I hope that it’s very often!" Matthew smiles, exhausted but happy, getting up from the bed.  
   
"Now let's think about putting clothes on. You know, Rachel has been so nice that she offered to go to our house to pick up some of our stuff. " the guitarist informs the drummer, throwing at him one of his shirts while he chooses a long-sleeved T-shirt.

/

"What the hell does  ‘Could you come back a little later tonight?' mean? I wonder if Matt remembers that he’s our guest! " Michael grumbles bothered, in the street with his partner.

"Oh, come on, it will be a long evening of fun hunting together. Did you hear him? Matthew has a plan that he need to set in action with Dominic, away from unwanted viewers. I trust him! " the beautiful brunette vampiress smiles, dragging her beloved in the depths of the night.

************************* (In the meantime)

"You and me alone. And we will for quite a while!" Matthew announces, advancing towards Dominic, which backs off until the chains and the wall allow him to do that.

He looks vaguely shocked and disturbed at the brunet’s hand that caresses lasciviously the chest through his shirt.

"What are you doing? Get away from me! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" the blond screams as the top of his undead lungs, trying to pull away.

The chuckle that the singer lets out confuses him even more.

"Oh, I know, but it is not your love that I ask for, that will come with time ... and in any case your daytime version pleases me a lot in this!"  Matt informs him mockingly, beginning to undo the top buttons of the drummer’s shirt.

"You can hardly call myself a fool. I chose to make you wear a shirt because you can easily open it, beyond the fact that you are chained or not. If I dared to damage one of the T-shirt s belonging to the good collection, I’d run up against my partner’s true fury, in comparison of which, you, my dear demon, are just a newbie! " Matt giggles, carrying out his task.

"I already told you to stay away from me!" the blond growls in warning.

"You do not want me to stay away. Now I know what you want, what you like, and perhaps I might like it as well! "Matthew informs him with a languid look. "I’ve realized that with you I’ve got it all wrong so far. Don’t you think that it is much better if I only you demons deal with this situation?"he smiles, changing his features, with his razor-sharp fangs and fluorescent eyes in evidence, allowing his demon to take full control of the situation.

"Sire," Dom lets out a sigh, looking at him with respectful attitude.

"That's right, my Childe, it is time that your Sire takes care of you!" the brunet whispers in his ear, scraping it slightly with his sharp canines, which makes the blond hiss in pleasure.

The blond lets the brunet continue to strip him, until the shirt is completely open, exposing his chest and his abs, and the brunet runs his eager hands on it.

The most inexperienced vampire groans and is carried away by those demanding caresses so much that he does not even seem to notice when even his pants are down to his  ankles, as well as the more expert vampire’s jeans.

Without a word and with a sharp intake behind him, the brunet makes the blond turn, so that his stomach is pressed against the cold wall.

The Sire bows his head towards his Childe’s neck teasing with the point of his teeth his mate’s shoulder, which trembles waiting for what the other is promising to him.

And the bite comes, fast and voracious, tasting his blood, without wasting a single drop escape and this has on his Childe the effect of the most elaborate foreplay.

Among pleased groans and murmurs, the Childe bends over, arching his back, in total submission.  
There’s no need for further preparations. Separating from his shoulder, his Sire places himself behind his back and sinks into his Childe with a single energetic thrust, which makes the younger vampire scream in a mixture of pain and indescribable pleasure, eager to get more.

For the whole duration of their screw, despite all the efforts made by the blond, the brunett does not grant him even a kiss.

It 's only cold, brutal and impersonal sex ... and his Childe could not ask for better.

When the brunet reaches the height of pleasure, he parts from his lover, biting his own wrist and rewarding his Childe with that generous, oozing, crimson offer that the blond does not refuse, of course, savoring the delicious nectar that only his Sire can give him and that it’s unique.

Moreover, this can only strengthen their bond even more.

"My little, sweet, creature, if you please me there will be other meetings of this kind, sometimes I’m even going to leave you the dominant position, as you want it. And you know what to do and what not to do to please me!" the brunet asserts aseptic, putting ther clothes back on  both himself and his mate.

"Yes, Sire." blond just nods.

"Very well, that's enough for tonight!"  the brunet proclaims, regaining his human features.

"I think it will not be a problem for you to fall asleep. You look like someone who is very, very tired! " Matthew chuckles, winking at him.

Matthew was not mistaken: in a few minutes, the blond falls asleep.

The frontman watches him from a distance, while he waits for the masters of that house to come back and he doesn’t have to wait for too long.

"So, how was it?" Rachel asks him, curious.

"It went fine, I guess. I strengthened the connection I have with my Childe, even when I deal only with his demon ... and I think I can begin to take him out to hunt! " Matthew replies.

"I guess it’s a reckless decision. It's still early. "Michael protests.

"No, I have the feeling that it is the right moment. At least let me do one attempt! "Matthew insists, with a determination that ignites his look.

The two older vampires can only agree.  
/  
"I cannot believe it, Dom, you're finally ready and I'll show you all the pleasures of a good hunting!" Matthew says joyful, leaving with him after midnight Michael and Rachel’s house, which are out to hunt on their own.

"Yeah, I cannot wait for you to teach me all the secrets!" Dominic smiles gently at him.

"Even the most undisclosed ones" the pianist assures.

The drummer continues to smile, getting closer, stroking Matt’s cheek with the back of his hand.

"You know, honey, even I cannot believe it ..." he whispers, demanding a kiss that the other doesn’t deny to him for sure. "How easy it is to deceive you!"  the blond sneers, parting fast from him and giving him a sharp blow on his head, even before Matt has the time to react.

The frontman collapses unconscious to the ground, while Dominic stares at his passed out mate approvingly, breathing deeply the night air saturated with a wonderful feeling: freedom.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it enough if I scream ‘TRUST ME? ‘ *O* No, I guess it’s not… *runs away*  
> Please, notice, during thehottest (and darkest) part of the chapter I deliberately chose not to name them ‘Matt’ or ‘ Dom ‘ , not even once, because in that moment there are only their demons … I just hope it’s clear :)  
> Fell free to tell me everything, please do ..
> 
>  
> 
> bye!!


	27. XXI: We will be victorious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic is free and out of control, nothing can stop him, unless...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D’you still remember this story? I hope so ^^
> 
> Not beta-ed and quickly re-read so sooooorryyyyy for all the horrible mistakes :/
> 
> Disclaimer: the title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ‘Uprising ‘, by Muse

  
Chapter XXI: We will be victorious

 Finally free from impediments, Dominic is going to enjoy what he hopes it will be a long night of hunting.  
He doesn’t even have to wait for long to find his first victim, because she ends up in his arms, literally, in a matter of minutes.

As a matter of fact, he is so well hidden by the darkness of the alley where he's walking that a girl who is running non-stop stumbles over him.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry, I totally didn’t see you ..." the girl starts to apologise, before lifting her head to focus better on the person who she has accidentally run over.

"Oh fuck, fuck, fuuuuuccccccck! But you're Dom from Muse! " she screams at the top of her lungs, amusing the blond with her reaction.

Dominic looks at her better, she is a teenager, probably late with her curfew that her parents have imposed to her. She cannot be more than seventeen years old.

But to Dominic, or rather to his demon, the one who now gained absolute control, gender, age, race and religion do not make any difference. It is simply fresh blood, blood that he can’t wait to savour until the last drop.

"Oh my god! I hit my head so hard that I died and now I am in heaven, right?" the young girl goes on, more and more confused.

-Not exactly, Cherie! - the handsome vampire sneers.

 Catching him a little off guard, the girl puts her hands on his face, lightly pinching his cheeks.

"No, damn it! You're here, you're real! Even if you are so cold! "she says, withdrawing her hands.

 -Oh, but you're going to warm me up! - the evil blond plans.

 Usually, Dominic hates having  strangers' hands over him, and perhaps his demon hates that even more, but right now he must play cool, if he wants his dinner.

As a matter of fact, he shows off one of the most captivating smiles of his entire repertoire.

"Yeah, you're not wrong, it's me, in flesh and bones!" he confirms.

\- And fangs! - he adds delighted to himself, before being interrupted by another hysterical scream from the girl.

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe it, Dominic Howard, aaaaaahh!"

"Hey, there's no need to shout like this!"  Dominic chuckles, even though he could not stand her one  minute longer.

"It's okay,  there is never anyone around here. I know because I live a few blocks from here!" she shrugs, trying to regain composure.

\- So there's nobody around here, huh? Hmm, good to know!-  the vampire takes a mental note.

"Let me guess, you're coming home from your night out and you're late!" he hazards.

"Yes, and my parents will kill me!" she panics.

\- They won't if I get there first!- the drummer meditates, ruthless.

"Now I can say that I found a worthy reason to delay a little more..." she smiles, now more at her ease, maybe even too much. "And you?  May I know what are you doing here? " she asks him, winking and taking a step towards him.

"Well, I was waiting for you!" Dom shows a cheeky grin.

 The girl feels like inside one of those FFs where the artist in question falls madly in love at first sight with the Mary Sue of the story.

"To tell you the truth, I would be fine with anyone else!" he adds with cold sincerity, shrugging.

 The girl suddenly falls from the six feet above the sky on which she was walking.

"What?"  she frowns.

"You know, whelp, your parents are right to worry. At night you can have very bad encounters " the drummer warns her.

"Quite the contrary!" she strikes back, although she does not like at all that contemptuous epithet with which he has just addressed to her.

 However, she panics a little more when she sees Dom getting even closer.

"Let's do this, since you like crying so much ..." says Dominic, with a sadistic grin, while, she doesn't know because of what inexplicable play of light, but she has the impression that the wonderful indefinite colour of his eyes has changed, leaving place to a menacing radioactive green. "I'll give you a good reason to do it!" he bursts out laughing, showing his elongated and razor-sharp canines.

 The teenager gives out  a bloodcurdling scream, but it is immediately smothered by Dom, who covers her mouth with one hand and bites her neck, unceremoniously.

 

  
That hot blood gushes down his throat, heating and invigorating him, after those days of captivity and nourishment to starvation, while with every sip he can feel his victim weakening more and more, in his arms.

-It 's such a wonderful feeling! -  the vampire muses, determined to bite deeper, in order to seize even more rapidly than innocent life.

 However, there is something that prevents him from doing that.  
 As a matter of fact, he cannot even minimally increase the pressure of his bite, because his mind is attacked by flashbacks, dating back to the day before, when his Sire has shown him who's the boss.

 The blond detached from his victim, who has already lost her senses, and focuses on those memories.  
 He recalls that total feeling of belonging and he knows that it can happen again, as often as he wants.  
 And Dom wishes that it could happen very often, but is well aware of what the conditions are.

 The words of his Sire are still ringing in his mind.

-'You know what to do and what not to do to please me'-

And Dom does know.

 He's perfectly aware that he can't satisfy his deepest instinct, not if he wants his Sire to welcome him back.  
 The blond knows he cannot kill, his Sire would notice the satisfied glint in his eyes, if he faced his gaze, he would taste it in a kiss that Dom couldn't surely deny to him, he would smell the scent of death upon the blond, he could feel his Childe's adrenaline.

 The point is that he wants to be accepted, he still wants an infinite number of precious moments to spend with his Sire, for an indefinite period of time, pretty similar to forever.  
 And if that's the price, Dom is willing to pay for it.

 With a low growl of frustration, reluctantly he leaves that victim who he knows that he can't drain  any further, fall to the ground and he switches back to his human features.

"Noo, why? You spoiled all the fun,  I was already ready to attack you behind your back!" Michael's voice makes him startle.

 As a matter of fact, turning, Dom sees him in company of his ever-present mate, while he's staring at the blond intently.

"But how could you do that? If I understood properly, the only one who can feel me is Matt ... or also my GigaSire has this capability?" the blond frowns.

"GranSire!" Michael corrects him, while Rachel lets out a chuckle. "And nope, you're right, the bond between us is not that strong, I'm not able to locate you."  the expert vampire admits.

"But we heard the little screamer!" Rachel says, pointing to the passed out girl. "You know, we were ready to intervene at any moment, but apparently it is no longer needed!" she smiles.

"Yeah, you stopped in time. You had all the chances, but you did not kill her." Michael summarizes.

"The point is that I would have liked to, it's just that I can’t, because I know that my Sire would not approve!" Dom snorts, bothered.

"For us it is enough!" Michael smiles with satisfaction.

"Come with me. I will make sure that you feed properly, but without any damage. "Michael warns  him and the most inexperienced vampire does not appear so reluctant at the prospect.  
"Hey, are you not coming with us?" he questions, confused, pointing at Rachel with his eyes.

"I can’t let this poor girl wake up with such a shock," the vampiress justifies, approaching the teenager and bending over her. "I’m going to heal her wounds and as soon as she wakes up I'll make sure that all she’s left is only the memory of a pleasant meeting!" she smiles, taking care of the teenager with a motherly attitude.

"See? It’s one of those things that you are not yet able to do, but Matthew will care about teaching everything to you! " Michael says, as he walks away with his GranChilde.

"It 's true, he said that he would teach me ... by the way, how is he?" the blond wonders.

"Why? How should he be? " the other frowns.

"You don’t know that, do you? I deceived him and knocked him down really hard and probably he hasn’t recovered yet  "the Englishman mutters.

The only answer that he gets is the Spanish who bursts out laughing.

"Not everyone is able to catch their Sire off guard. I must say, boy, you've got potential! "he congratulates, and Dominic no longer finds his company so intimidating.

"Hey, but if Matthew did not move from there, it means that he didn’t feed. When we get back can we can bring something to him? " the blond asks in concern.

"Of course we can!" the oldest nods, pleased to hear his GranChilde make a similar request.

\-------------------------------------------------------

Returning from the hunt, the three find Matthew exactly where Dom had left him, at the entrance of the oldest two vampires’ house.

"Geez, I must have given him a very hard blow!" Dominic states, leaning toward the guitarist and shaking him with a certain insistence, until the brunet starts to show signs of recovery.

As soon as he manages to focus the view,  Matt stands up abruptly, turning to Michael and Rachel.

"Tell me that you stopped him in time!" he questions them, agitated.

"No, Matthew, we have not stopped him." the vampiress has fun torturing him a little bit, watching his expression change from hopeful to terrified in a few seconds. "For the simple reason that there was no need to stop him.” she calms him down soon after.

Matthew records that information, and then turns to Dominic, with a great big grin on his face.

"So that means ..."

"Yeah, okay, I fed, without killing anyone, because I have been able to stop in time .. but let’s not make a big affair! " the blond retorts nervously. "Now excuse me!" he walks away, reaching the house before the others.

"But ..." Matt mutters, confused.

"Try to understand ... it's a defeat for his demon, which now feels with  wounded pride and reputation, but over time he'll be better, you'll see!" the brunette reassures him, empathic, and then she retrieves the two boys in a trance who she left in the shadows.

"He acts so annoyed, but at the very end it’s obvious that he does care about you. You know, he chose those victims specifically for you, he did not want to leave you with an empty stomach! " Michael explains to him.

"Really?" Matthew asks for confirmation, with his blue eyes sparkling with delight at the news.

"Yeah, but we have taken care to hypnotize them. He would have only knocked them out and this is not the most suitable way to do these things! You have to teach him so much stuff  about the hunt! "Rachel requires.

"Oh yes, I will. I will teach him everything! " the singer smiles, before eating, without too much fuss.

"Please, now tell me ... you know the reason why Dom has stopped, don’t you?"  the pianist grows curious about it, after his meal and the other two vampires just have to tell him everything.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
"So everything went according to my flawless plans! I told you it would work!" Matthew asserts, at the end of their report.

"Oh yeah, and tell me, your brilliant plan was also to be knocked out by your Childe, wasn’t it?" Michael teases him with a skeptical smirk.

"Nope, that was unexpected!" the younger vampire rolls his eyes. "But what really matters is that Dom has been able to control himself, thanks to the bond that my demon has established with his" he rejoices immediately after.

"I think we'd better all go inside, the dawn is approaching!" Rachel points out prudently.

As soon as they cross the threshold, they can see in the distance that Dominic has already taken steps to chain himself.

"But no, puppy, I’m sure that it is no longer necessary!" Rachel smiles at the blond, freeing him. "There aren’t any danger now. You can sleep with your mate. "she informs him.

Confining himself to thank her with a quick nod, Dominic gets up and heads towards Matt’s room and, after greeting the other two, the singer follows him.

"Let’s make it clear, I agree, but only because the bed is much more comfortable than the floor!" Dominic points out, bitchy, slipping under the covers.

 "I had no doubt about it!" Matt plays his same game, imitating his actions. "It 's good to have you with me again, Dommie!" he murmurs happy.

"Do not call me that!" the other snaps.

Matthew chuckles, not at all discouraged.

"And how am I supposed to call you, then? EvilBadAssGrrrVampireWhoCanKillNobodyBecauseHeLovesHisSireTooMuchToDoThat? is a bit  long as nickname, do not you think?" he says.

"Forget it, Dommie is okay!" the drummer snorts. "But now let’s sleep! And make sure you keep your distance, I don’t want you stuck with me! "he imposes, dryly, delimiting the boundaries of the bed.

Matt obeys, without protesting.

"Dommie?" he calls him, while he can already feeling the tiredness overwhelming him.

"Mm?" the other mumbles, more or less in his same conditions.

"Thanks for the guys you brought to me ... I know it was you." the brunet whispers.

"Shut up and sleep!" the blond mutters annoyed.  
\-------------------------------------------  
In the early hours of the afternoon, Matt wakes up, finding Dom sleeping on top of him, with his arms wrapped around the guitarist’s neck.

"Good morning, Mr. Keep-Your-Distance!" the youngest chuckles, stroking his golden hair.

Both for his voice and that tender gesture, Dom opens his eyes, smiling at the meeting of his partner’s blue oceans.

"Uh, but Mattie, you have not yet figured out, have you? My demon talks, talks, but he never knows what he’s saying! " Dom shrugs, clinging closer to his Sire.

"Then you do  remember!" Matthew realises, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Yes, I remember all of last night, perfectly in every detail." he nods and then massages Matt behind his head, where’s there’s the blow he hit the brunet with. "Did I or rather did he hurt you a lot?" he worries.

Matt shakes his head negatively and shrugs.

"Nothing that is not curable in a few hours, though ... damn if you hit hard, baby!"

"The point is that, although I remember everything, I was a mere spectator, he held total control... but I think that somehow this thing is becoming less split, he and I are learning to live .. or-un-live .. together, whatever!" the beautiful blond says.

"This is such a good news! Now you're more than ready to learn the hunt as it should be." his boyfriend sentences. "So you're saying that now there's your demon, too, right?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Probably, but he’s still too drowsy to spoil the moment!" the blond giggles, then he glances at the brunet  mischievously. "I was wondering, is there anything I can do to make up for what he did to you?" he question rhetorically, disappearing under the sheets.

"Uh!" Matt startles pleasantly, as soon as the blond unzip his pants and starts his ministrations between his legs. "I'd say you're definitely forgiven!" his Sire groans, at the mercy of his Childe’s lustful attentions.  
\-----------------------------------------------------

"Now I would say that we can go back to our home. I’ll never thank you enough, without you I don’t know how I could cope with everything!" Matthew asserts, in front  of his Sire and his queen.

 "Yes, the worst is over. I guess that now we can go back to Rome. "Michael nods.

"If you need anything, let us know!" Rachel smiles, affable.

"Yes, yes, okay, thanks for everything." Dom says hastily. "Bells, can we please go now? It 's almost midnight. I'm starving! "he adds, desperate.

He almost reminds of a little dog who wants his master to take him out for a walk, he just has to  begin to scratch the door.

"Someone here is pawing!" Rachel chuckles, before everyone leaves the building after a last exchange of greetings.

Left alone, Matthew peers at Dominic with a certain diffidence.

"You and me in front of this building, before I take you to hunt ... I’m  having a strange sense of deja-vu!" the brunet grumbles.

"It will not end like last time, I give you my word and my demon gives his!" Dominic guarantees.

"Well, then I have something for you." Matthew smiles, putting a hand into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out the chain with the white half of the pendant, fastening it around his boyfriend’s neck. "And for me, too!" He smirks, fastening around his own neck the black half of the pendant.

"Do you trust me that much?" Dom murmurs, almost moved.

"I do. So we can just stay around even after dawn, if we want to." Matt nods, emphasizing his response with a sweet kiss on his partner’s lips. "And now let's go!"  
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
"If you come across one of our fans, everything is easier, you can manage everything better, extend the moment to the utmost and then strike, while with people who do not have the faintest idea of who we are, you have to act immediately, find an excuse to isolate with your preys and hypnotize them. "Matthew instructs his Childe, while, hidden in the shadows, both scrutinize the passersby through one of the side streets, not far from Westminster.

"Why can’t I just knock them out?" Dominic asks him, growing impatient.

"No, Dammit, quit it, I don’t want to hear about knockouts any-bloody-more! It does not work like that! " the brunet snorts exasperatedly. "And now choose who you want!" he urges the other.

"That couple who’s coming." the blond decides, pointing at a boy and a girl of about thirty years old, in unequivocal attitude.

"Very well, now remain hidden here and let me do the rest!" Matt orders, as he’s about to approach those strangers.

  
"They didn’t know Muse, I must say, very good choice!" Matt makes fun of him, coming back to the  isolated spot with the two victims following him, in a complete state of trance.

"How could I know? Excuse me, next time I'll make sure they wear our T-shirts! " Dom snorts.

"Ah-ah. Funny. So, are you ready?" the other replies.

"I’ve never been so ready!" the blond confirms.

"Good. As soon as I free them from my spell, all you have to do is focus and desire to dominate their  mind.” the brunet says.

"Okay, you can release them." Dom nods.

Matt accepts his request and before the girl has time to comprehend where she is and how she got there, Dom makes sure that she looks at him, concentrating deeply.

Matt smiles when he sees appear in Dom’s already unnaturally fluorescent green eyes two dark green spirals.

"Now you are in my power, and you’ll do everything I say." Dom commands, with Matt who shows a nod of consent. "But first a little test." he adds.

"But no, why? It is not necessary. She is already in your power! "Matt interrupts him.

"Well, at least I'm sure of that, besides it is my own curiosity!" his Childe shrugs, always showing off his swirling spirals, turning back to the girl. "Who is your favorite band?"

"Radiohead." the girl says without hesitation.

"I could let you kill her for that!" Matt mutters, taking it as a personal insult.

"Really?" Dominic looks at him expectantly.

"I was joking!" the brunet reproaches him. "De gustibus non est disputandum." he makes his smart quote. "So what are you waiting for? If I recall correctly, you were starving, weren’t you? "he adds.

"Huh, right. Well, girl, expose your neck and wait... and immediately after you’ll forget everything. " Dom orders and the girl obeys.

No more than half a second later, his fangs are already in her neck, with the blond who begins to quench his thirst.

Matt lets him do as long as he can stand.

"Dooom ..." the singer warns him humming when it is time.

With difficulty, but Dom manages to detach from the girl, leaving her weakened but still conscious.

"Yes, yes, I know, see? I have not taken any stupid life! " Dom’s demon growls annoyed,  amusing Matt. "Can I go to the guy now?" he pleads, still quite hungry.

"Nope, you forgot something important. We must never leave tracks "Matt insists.

"Oh yeah, right. So do I have to do what I did to you last time? I lick the marks and everything disappears?" Dom asks.

His question now also proves  how the real Dominic and his demon are becoming one, as the second remember things that should belong only to the memory of the first.

It’s because of this reason that Matthew is doubly happy to nod and watch his mate proceed.

\-----------------------------------------------

"It's not that hard!" Dominic comments, after that, not only the couple has recovered and moved away as if nothing had happened, but also Matthew proceeded to feed, under the fascinated gaze of his Childe.

"Yeah. And it's also pretty funny, don’t you think so? "Matt chuckles, while walking. "Tomorrow I will leave it all to you!" the pianist informs the percussionist.

"Okay. What time is it now? " the blond asks him.

"Almost 3:30 a.m. Why? "

  "I know that we got back our pendant, but ... actually... everything I want to do is go home, I mean our house!" Dominic confesses.

"Nothing is better than home!" Matthew agrees, perhaps because neither he is too thrilled about wandering around until dawn.

"And once there we could make love, in our bed until dawn and beyond ..." Dom suggests charmingly "So if you want to make me happy it must be tender and slow, if you want to make my demon happy it must be violent and wild. I leave it to you, indeed, the choice is yours! "he adds, running his tongue over his normal teeth, sensually.

"Well, I’m sure we’ll find a way to please you both!" his partner promises, kissing him passionately.

\----------------------------

"Ah, Matteh, back to the subject of our un-life in a castle ..." begins the blond, after recovering from the marathon of sex, in all the way, as Matt had promised, while outside it is already late morning.

Matthew already knows where he is going with this and decides to interrupt him.

"No, Dom, do not insist. No bloody leopards! "He says, adamantly.

Dominic throws his pillow against him, rudely, and then he gets out of the bed, regardless of his own absolute nudity.

"It’s you the one without a soul!" he snorts, going away, deeply disappointed.

\- He'll get over it!-  Matt ponders, too worn out to chase after him.

\-------------------------------------------------- ----  
 At late evening, when they come out, just as promised, Matthew let Dominic hunt on his own, walking away with the girl who he lured, while Dom does the same with the one who he has found for himself.

To tell the truth, it's the girls to have 'attacked' them, because, yes, this time it's two fans.

While the girl keeps asking him tons of questions, which is an obvious sign of her great excitement, Dominic is looking for a place that's isolated enough, where to take her to activate his plans and he finds it.

The girl, being in a place so secluded with him, starts to get strange ideas about the whole situation.

"Dominic, but ..." she chirps.

"Shhh ..." the vampire approaches her, looking at her, but having the feeling that something is not right. "Look at me."

"I would never stop watching you!" She sighs, sounding mawkish.

"Wait .. don't you see anything in my eyes? "the blond asks her .

"They are beautiful, as you are!" she shows him a grin.

\- But what the fuck .. ? - Dom begins to get nervous, but tries to keep calm, closing his eyes.

\- Now I just have to try again better ...- he makes another attempt and then he reopens them.

"No, it's not what I meant! They are gleaming more than usual, right? With a lighter color?" He questions her.

"Do you mean that they should shine more, because you're happy to be here with me?" she ventures, acquiring more and more self-confidence.

"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatt" Dom calls him, exasperated.

******************* (In the meantime)

A few blocks away, Matthew has managed to stand apart with its prey, but things are progressing more slowly than expected, especially since she, armed with a providential diary, is making him sign autographs on every page.

"This is for my sister, this for my cousin, and then there's my best friend, that if she only knew that now I'm here with you.. "

Matthew is not even listening anymore, Dominic's calling has been received loud and clear.

"I'll be back!" he warns her, disappearing.

It only takes Matt a few seconds to reach his Childe.

"What's the matter?" he asks, appearing behind the blond's back.

"I cannot do it any-bloody-more! My eyes are no longer capable of it!" Dom whines.

"Matthew!" the girl jolts. "I'm happy to see you and everything, but, you know, me and Dom were here for .."

The girl no longer adds any word, kidnapped by the hypnotic gaze from a rather jealous Matt.

"She's all yours!" the pianist asserts, throwing her in Dom's arms, before returning from where he's come.

\-------------------------------------------

"Wait, wait .. what have you said just yesterday? Ah yeah, I got it: 'it's not that hard!' "Matt mocks Dom, mimicking his way of speaking, when he and his mate are reunited after the hunt.

"Hey, a moment of trouble can happen to anyone, and then already with the second girl I've had no need of any help!" Dom defends, slightly insulted.

'It is not difficult, you just have to clear your mind." the brunet explains. "And in your case it is not that there is much to be emptied!" he adds, with a laugh.

"Hey!" Dom growls at him.

"Oh come on, baby, I was joking!" his boyfriend calms him down.

"And anyway, I can not clear my mind, because I always have a fixed idea, which is how much I love you" the blond confesses, showing his Sire the sweetest of his smiles.

Matthew seems to melt.

"Really?" the singer smiles, emitting little blue sparks from his eyes.

"No, but it's fun to see how credulous you are!" Dom bursts out laughing, taking his revenge.

\-------------------------------------------------- -

"Come on, Bells, get up!" Dom spurs him, beginning to open cabinets and drawers.

"But ... it's not even ten in the morning!" Matt mutters getting up.

"Exactly, so let's not waste time. In two hours we must be at Heathrow, I have already booked the flight!" Dom informs him, filling his bag and taking Matt's trolley.

"The flight?" the singer repeats, still a bit dazed.

"Remember when you made that wonderful surprise at New Year's  
Eve? Well, this time it's me who'll take you for a nice trip! All the concerts will resume next week, we can allows that to us! " the blond smiles, providing to fills his suitcase.

"Huh?"

"But unlike you, I have no intention of blindfold you and make you look like an idiot! You'll see where we're going on your own! " the drummer winks at him.

\-------------------------------------------------- ---------

"In Sicily?" Matt asks him, when at the airport he reads the board.

"Yep, honey. Just think, if we hurry already by the afternoon we could just lay in the sun on one of those wonderful beaches on the Island! "Dom replies all dreamy

Matt almost chokes with the coffee he’s drinking to recover.

"A whole day at the beach?"

"Yep, of course. In a few days we will see all our friends again, do you really want them to see me so pale?" the percussionist points out, as if it were a matter of great importance for him ... and truth must be told,  it actually is.

"But, baby, wouldn’t it be enough to take a sunlamp?" the guitarist hazards.

"It's not the same thing! Besides, do you think about it? Italian blood! " he winks, already tasting it, bringing out a valid reason.

"You're right, it is not such a bad plan. So you'll enjoy your beloved beach and at sunset I’ll meet you again for a sightseeing tour of the city? "Matt tries again as they go toward the check-in.

"Nice try!" Dom chuckles, "Nope, my dear, you'll spend every moment of the afternoon with me, a little colour will make you look so good!" the other insists.

"But ..." the brunet protests.

Dominic resorts to heavy weaponry and use his deadly pout.

"Let me see if I got it straight, Mattie, I’ve almost lost my soul for you and you cannot even spend a single day sunbathing with me?" he accuses his lover and there’s no need to say that he’s just won that battle.

"All right!" Matt rolls his eyes.

\-------------------------------------------------- ----

However, when both lie down on their loungers in the VIP area of the beach of Mondello, isolated and undisturbed, and from the most shaded spot that he can get Matt observes his boyfriend, which is much more exposed to the sun like a lizard, with sunglasses, I -pod in his ears and ice cold drink in his hand, while he enjoys the full tan with a broad smile on his face, he realizes that please him was the rightist choice.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And who knows? Maybe they were really there, but they were good at not getting paparazzi! XD
> 
> Seriously, I apologize to all, but after all these darker and tense chapters, I really need fluffy stuff ... I hope you won't mind...
> 
> well, I'll post this story here until chapter XIV I , then if you want to read the next chpaters, just let me know, I'll send them to you, somehow.. ;) 
> 
> thanks for reading :)


	28. XXII: Panic Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let’s have our beloved vampires have some fluffy/hot fun ^^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo,  
> I’m back.  
> Sowwy for this exaggeratedly loooooong chapter, will you reach the end without falling asleep? :/
> 
> Warning: TONS of fluff, but also hot scene and bloodplay, too (squeamish people, stay away from this! XD)
> 
> not betaed, sowwy for awful mistakes...
> 
> Disclaimer: title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ‘Panic Station’ by Muse and it’s its title, as well XD Well, T2L is so damn inspiring...

"Maaaaaatt" Dom calls him, humming, since he can easily feel his eyes on him. "Why don’t you just quit standing hidden in the shadow and come here?" the blond urges him, without even turning his eyes in his direction.

"Because you are fully exposed to the sun!" the pianist protests.

"Well, I do not think that it will kill you!" the percussionist replies pungent.

"Am I wrong or is this a plan of revenge from your demon?" Matt accuses him, preparing to push his sun bed close the blond’s one.

"Maybe!" the other grins naughtily.

 

 

"Please! I can’t take it anymore! Can we go from here? " the brunet questions him, at the top of his endurance, fidgeting nervously on the sun bed, like a naughty child who does not want to stay a minute longer in one place.

"But if you've been here less than a quarter of an hour?" Dominic chuckles.

"Exactly, it's a damn eternity! This sun is killing me! " his boyfriend complains, intolerant to a sun that at three in the afternoon can be really merciless.

"Exaggerated! Maybe it's the time you get a little tan." the other replies, lowering his sunglasses for a better look."Although I think it's hopeless." he adds, noticing that he has not acquired even a minimum of more colour, saving what he acquires when Dom looks at him through his dark sunglasses.

"Why? Did you have expectations for real? " Matt chuckles, sitting up. "I do not think that the super-tan belong within the powers of a vampire!" he asserts, and then he looks better at his mate.

"You are just a sodding exception! You had the ability to tan out of the ordinary since you were a human being." he mutters with a subtle hint of envy, which only serves to amuse his partner.

"Yeah, see? It's the result of only three hours, but it seems that I’ve been here for a month! " Dominic chuckles pleased, observing his tan that makes him similar to an Australian surfer. "If only London was sunnier!" he sighs.

"Thank goodness it's not!" Matthew replies irritated, horrified at the thought.

Dom ensures that they are quite isolated, before doing a certain thing.

"Hey, Mattie," he whispers, holding between his fingers the hem of his boxers, blue, short and tight, that leave very little to the imagination. "Look!" Says the blond, quickly lowering the upper part of the swimsuit, just enough to show the boundary between the tanned skin and the still immaculate skin, and then he covers it again.

Matt jolts.

"Dammit, Dommeh! You cannot expect to show me certain things without them having certain consequences ... on me!" the brunet protests, emitting a low, frustrated growl.

The said consequences are hidden from the comfortable and baggy, orange boxers that Matt is wearing, but the blond can still sense them easily.

He makes a crooked smile and slips beside the singer.

"And what effect would it be having, honey?" he whispers in his ear, teasing the lobe with the canines just a little more pronounced.

There is no one around, but even if there was someone nearby there would be nothing to be surprised of, because the fact that Dom and Matt are often at an equivocal, ambiguous, promiscuous and prohibitive distance, even for two best friends, is well known by many people.

"To begin with,  I’d redden your pretty white ass with some spanks" the frontman whispers in response, nibbling Dom’s lobe in the same way. "And then I'd do things to you ... things that I’m shocked to reveal." he admits, moving away from the drummer.

"But you are not easily shocked!" Dom points out.

"Exactly!" Matt chuckles allusive.

"Well, then, why don’t you just turn your plans into indecent acts?" the blond instigates him.

"Where, here?" The brunet frowns, puzzled.

"Where else?" the other chuckles.

"Yeah, okay, so far is a very isolated area, but people could arrive at any moment!" Matt hesitates.

"And do you think I do not know?" Dom winks, allusive. "This makes it more exciting!" he mutters, biting Matt’s shoulder with his normal teeth. "And I love the high-risk situations." he confides, smiling.

"Why, do you think I don’t? Let me remind you that we had sex in an alley!" Matthew chuckles, stroking his neck.

"Exactly! So what's the problem?" Dominic insists.

"And do you even ask me? There it was night and it was London, a city that we know as well as our pockets. Now we are abroad, it’s daylight and we are in a place where we barely know how to orient" the guitarist points out.

"Phew, that’s true. I hadn’t thought about that!" the drummer snorts, parting from him and lying back on his bed. "But, at second thought, we could find a way to isolate us." he hints, determined not to surrender.

"You're right. Let's hide in our cabin!" the brunet suggests.

"Oh, please, Matteh, we can do much better than that: two vampires, no breath. And there, only a few steps from us, there's the sea!" to the blond alludes, with a sly smile, pointing to the blue, crystal, clear sea, just waiting for someone to enjoy its fresh water.

"I like that" Matt approves, smiling.

 "I knew you'd like it." Dom winks

"I really think I'll write a song about it" the frontman goes on.

"About what? The two of us having unrestrained, in apnoea, underwater sex? "Dominic provokes him, irreverent.

"No, you idiot!" Matt laughs, giving him a playful slap on the chest. "About the fact that you like the high-risk situations." he points out, jumping on the bed of his boyfriend and ruffling his hair.

"Well, it would the umpteenth song that you dedicate to me!” Dom chuckles, playing with the strings of his eternal companion’s swimsuit.

"Yes, but this time I aim to something that is not romantic at all, but very explicit." the brunet informs him.

"Uh, I would not mind at all!" the mischievous blond giggles. "Have you got any idea?"

"I want something that makes dance, with a groove that captures who listens to it. As a matter of fact, I'll tell you what, I want to go wild on stage. In front of you." the youngest reveals.

"Sexy moves?" the oldest asks, running his tongue over his lips.

"You bet, baby!" the brunet assures, giving him a very quick kiss that no human eye would be able to discern.

"For the words I thought of something like _'Welcome to Fear Land'_ but I can do better." Says the singer, stroking his chin, thoughtfully. "I'll think of something more pwoper."

Dominic smiles, with an amused expression.

"What?" Matt questions him, nervously stroking his nape.

"Nothing. I just love how you say that word. " the drummer murmurs.

Matt smiles back, but then he shows Dom a fake pout.

"Is there anything else you love about me?" he asks softly.

"Honey, if we go in the water I'll show you!" Dom strikes back, grabbing his hand and running towards the waves with him.

Within a few seconds, without hesitation, the two have already dive into the refreshing waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, though not at all affected by the heat, because, despite the sun, their temperature is always kept very cold, because now only a certain something is able to increase it.  
The two lovers lead off with a few quick swims, eluding the lifeguard’s supervision.

Exchanging a knowing glance, the two lovers are close to each other and share a sweet kiss that goes underwater.

However, after not even a minute, both re-surface and separate, oddly in need to store their lungs with as much air as possible.

"There's something wrong with it." Dom comments, once he has recovered sufficiently.

"Yeah ... technically the two of us we should no longer have the need to breathe!" Matthew mumbles puzzled, while they both prudently decide to move to a point where they can touch the bottom with their feet.

"Yet you we were successful! Remember? When we were in Rotterdam, in our hotel room, in the large hot tub and you made those things to me? Well, it seems to me that not even a moment you recalled that you had to breathe! "Dom asserts, smiling ecstatically at those more than pleasant memories.

"You said that, Dom, that was just a bathtub and I had just dipped my head, I could return to the surface when I wanted to, but this is the sea, we are totally submerged and ... though it sounds absurd, I'm suffocating!" Matt explains.

"Me too." his interlocutor mutters, before being struck by an idea.

"Maybe we just need a little 'training!" he suggests, starting to swim with a disquieting attitude around Matt, which does not understand his intentions.

"Between the two of us you are the more experienced, it is right that you give the example first!" the blond says, before attacking the brunet from behind and pushing him under the water, holding his head down with one hand.

Matt endures for about thirty seconds, but then begins to squirm, waving his arms to the  surface to make Dom understand to release him, but Dominic does not let him go, overpowering him with his weight.

"Come on, honey, you can do it, so you can get used to it!" he urges him.

Matthew can do nothing and has to redouble his efforts, driven by the unsustainable need to re-emerge, and he manages to, using his supernatural power and giving himself a powerful thrust upward, which eventually sends Dom few meters away.

"Damn you, idiot! What the fuck do you think you were doing? " he growls, reaching the blond with a few fast strokes.

"I was just trying to help ..." Dom mumbles, assailed by guilty conscience.

"To do what exactly? Drown me? Confess, it was another trick by your demon to try to kill me? "the brunet accuses him, as he keeps coughing and spitting salt water.

"No, he has nothing to do, but ... oh, come on! No one has ever heard of a vampire who died drowned, it's ridiculous! " the blond justifies lamely.  
"Judging by how both you and I know about that subject everything could be possible!" the pianist exclaims acidly, glaring at him.

"I ... I'm sorry. " Dom babbles, sensing a coming soon threat and he begins to swim away, for pure survival instinct.

"To be sorry is not enough!" Matthew yells. "You're dead!" he says, chasing his Childe.

"Oh, but I already am!" the most inexperienced vampire chuckles, turning to the other, before deciding to swim faster.

But not fast enough for the guitarist, which in a few seconds surpasses him and cuts in front of the percussionist, overpowering his body.

"So you're a dead undead!" Matt corrects himself, grabbing Dom by the hair and pushing his head underwater.

"So, do you like it as a method?" the brunet asks him, dragging Dom’s head to surface after about twenty seconds.

"No! It’s horrible! I do not want to do that anym.. "Dom protests, breathing quickly, before being pushed under the water again, with brutality.

"Too late, love. Let that be a lesson! "Matthew replies unfazed.

This time it's Dominic who desperately tries to break free and Matt decides to let him go, after a time that’s much longer than the previous.

On the other hand, he  knows that the only damage that he can cause to his boyfriend is just a big scare.

"Damn idiot! Do you always have to be so vindictive? "Dom growls, coughing madly.

"Yes, I have!" Matt grins, now quieter.

"Ok, sex underwater is postponed until a later date." the drummer proclaims, finding the full consent of the frontman, as they get closer to the shore.

"Cabin?" Matt suggests.

"Yes, please!" Dom nods

However, when they go out of the water, the beach is no longer so isolated and one of the swimmers catches a glimpse of them instantly.

"Oh, my god, my goooooooooood! Matt and Dom of Museeeeeeeeee!"she cries, rallying her friends.

Within only a few seconds the musicians find themselves surrounded by a dozen young women between twenty and thirty-five years old, which, though they may be nice, at that time they’re not a pleasant company to the two vampires.

"Lady, excuse us, but we’re really in a hurry!" Dominic barks, rather abruptly, making his way with Matt.

"He's right, but if tonight you pass by the Grand Hotel Igeia you will find us there ... and we will be much more available!" Matt winks, greeting them with his hand, before the partner drags him away.

"Why the hell did you say to those girls the hotel where we stay?" the blond questions him, pissed off, stopping to collect all their stuff from their umbrella.

His Sire smiles amused.

"Don’t you get it, baby? At least we can have a easy dinner tonight!” Matthew winks at Dom, pulling from his bag the keys to their cabin.

"Oh, right. I had not thought about  that.” Dom mumbles, repenting of his knee-jerk reaction.

"Did you really think I had another kind of interest?" the brunets questions him, flattered, as they are reaching their destination.

"Well, you know ... the one in the middle looked like Gaia a little bit, that’s why..." his Childe babbles, in deep embarrassment.

Matthew simply opens the door to their cabin, pushes Dom inside and closes it behind them.

It’s dark, but they both can see very well.

Dominic finds himself with his back pressed against the fragile wall by Matthew who makes their wet and cold bodies adhere to perfection, in an embrace that offers no escape.  
Not that Dom wants to get away, of course.

"Well, since obviously you have not yet realized how important you are to me ..." Matt whispers, nibbling the tip of Dom’s ear, then down along the neck, sprinkling it with kisses, continuing the descent to his chest and abdomen, while licking the droplets of salt water and saltiness.

The drummer moans happy, even more so when he sees Matt grab the edges of his boxers and kneel before him, pulling them down to his ankles, with a sharp tug.

"You leave me no choice but to make the concept clearer!" Matt grins, ready to worship his lover.

And among multiple orgasms, one of which is caused by an unexpected bite to Dom’s left thigh, then healed by the soothing tongue of his Sire, in the course of a relationship that alternates between moments of extreme sweetness to others, in fact, made of animalistic passion; Dominic has yet another confirmation of how much, whether it beats or not, Matthew's heart belongs to him and him alone, as well as every fiber of his body, of his soul ... and by now also of his demon.

"I swear I'll stop being so jealous!" Dom says, once he recovers, as the put their boxers on.

"Oh no, please, do not ever stop!" Matt smiles, kissing him deeply. "I love too much reassuring you about my love for you." He moans, skimming his lips

Dom holds him tighter, rubbing his face against the brunette’s.

"Matthew, but you are already absolutely certain of my love for you, right?" he provokes him, slipping a naughty hand inside his baggy, orange boxers.

"Oh! Now that you makes me think about it better ... maybe I have some doubts!” Matt groans, bowing his head back.

Dominic took the opportunity to leave a very showy hickey on his neck.

"So you'll have a nice brand of belonging tonight, when we meet the girls. The good old human way!" he chuckles, making him laugh even more.

Moreover, it is true that the signs of a human left on a vampire vanish immediately, but not those of a vampire on another vampire, if they do not sooth them with their own saliva.

"And is there any chance that you resort even to the vampire way?" his Sire raises his eyebrow.

His Childe smiles and kisses Matt's right shoulder, tracing the path with kisses, until he reaches his wrist.

"Just ask, love!" he smiles, his eyes sparkling with radioactive green, before gently sinking his fangs into the soft, pale flesh, pleasing both himself and Matt.

"Coming back to the main topic ..." Dom licks his wrist and heals it before continuing to massage Matt’s member, erect again, and then takes the pianist’s hand and places it on his own manhood, in order to  make him feel his excitement. "Matthew, would you like be reassured?" he questions the other rhetorically, with a low, passionate growl.

"More than anything else!" Matt begs him, pushing himself more against the drummer with his pelvis.

In less than a second, their boxers are thrown on the floor, while the two immortal lovers are ready for a second round, with the roles reversed.

\----------------------------------------

\-----------

Fully satisfied and proud to have managed to control themselves enough not to reduce the poor cabin in a pile of rubble, Dom and Matt go out, once and for all, leaving both the cabin and the beach, going out in two different times, to avoid arousing suspects.

However, being together so clandestinely, hear the noises outside in a language difficult to understand for them, mostly belonging to the innocent, naive and carefree children playing nearby, be careful not to be heard by anyone and the risk that they could be discovered at any moment, only made the whole situation even more exciting.

 "Bells, do not you think we should ask someone something?" Dom recalls, once back in their hotel room.

"Uh, yeah, right!" Matt nods, drawing out his iPhone and searching in the phone book a number which now he should be able to type by memory.

"Are you sure we won’t bother them? It is not even sunset, yet" Dom notices, a little doubtful.

"There's only one way to find it out!" Matt shrugs, during the third ring.

"Matt, hello!" a happy Rachel cheers.

"Uh, thank goodness, then we did not bother you!" the frontman asserts, relieved.

"Given that you do not ever bother, sugarplum, nothing could disturb me today!" she replies, with a cheerful attitude.

"Why are you so happy?" he asks her.

"Did you ever see me sad?" the vampiress points out.

"Touché!" Matt recognizes.

"The truth is that Rac is particularly happy because today we will receive visits." Michael reveals to him.

"Ah, so you're up, too, I thought you were asleep yet!" Matt comments.

"What a low opinion you have of me!" his Sire snorts.

"Views, which visits?" Dom intrudes into the discussion among the other three.

"Hey, puppy, nice to hear you, how are you?" Rachel questions.

"Well, no chains on me, I'd say I’m definitely better!" the blond chuckles.

"That depends on the circumstances!" Lets out the brunette, mischievous, entertaining his Sire and putting wicked ideas in Matt’s head.

"You asked me who comes to visit us, did not you, Dom?" she returns to the previous topic. "It’s my sister and her partner, of course." she replies. "They come tonight and will stay for a bit with us. I cannot wait, it’s at least twenty years since I’ve seen them! "

"Geez! You’ll have so many things to tell each other!" Dom smiles.

"I'm also pleased to see her again. Maggie is such a smart girl and she’s the only contact that is left to Rachel of her family. The nice thing for a vampire is that there are no mothers in-law anymore! " Michael chuckles, amusing his two interlocutors.

"Miguel Felipe Morientes, shame on you! What a horrible thing to say! "Rachel reproaches him, using his full name to emphasize the gravity of the situation.

"But he's right. Gaia's mother did nothing but fill me with lasagna, every damn time she saw me. According to her I was starving! " Matthew mutters at the memory.

"Yeah. And Jessica's mother had decided to knit for me an ugly wool sweater, but Jess and I split before she could finish up the sleeves! " Dom reveals.

"Did you hear them?" Michael addresses his partner, with a justifying attitude.

"Three men against one woman. I give up! " the beautiful brunette rolls eyes.

"Fine. Now do you want to tell you the reason of your call?" Michael wonders.

"Yeah. Could it be because your demon interferes again, right, Dom? " the vampiress hazards.

"Nope, now I've learned how to keep it under control." the blond assures.

"I can guarantee. If Dom has some problems, it’s with hypnosis! "Matt makes fun of him.

"Really?" the two older vampires giggle.

"Bells" Dominic protests, glaring at his boyfriend.

"Okay, it happened only once. Now he became very good! " the singer corrects himself, pleasing the percussionist.

"Good for him, then what is the problem?" Michael insists.

"We still can’t help breathing!" the two less experienced vampires whine in unison.

"But I can do it ... in certain situations!" Matt feels compelled to point out.

"I do not even want to know about those situations, even though I can easily imagine!" his Sire comments. "Anyway, guys, it’s more than normal!" he adds.

"Really?" Dom asks, puzzled.

"But of course! I would have been surprised to the contrary! " Michael chuckles.

"He's right, forget the cliché that a vampire automatically stops breathing. It is not so, indeed, it’s the habit of previous human life that is more difficult to stop!" Rachel explains.

"That's right. There are those who only took a month to do it, like myself! " Michael boasts. "And there are people who can take about five years!" He adds, taking a glimpse of his Childe.

"You’re exaggerated. It only took me two years! "she corrects him, annoyed.

"And did you think it’s nothing?" his Sire mocks her, laughing, before she mercilessly bruises his foot with her heel 12 décolleté shoe.

"Ouch! I asked for it! "Michael mutters.

Even if they have not seen the scene, the British men can easily imagine what happened.

"You know, Rachel, maybe I can beat your own record." Dom says, sadly.  
"Do not be silly, I'm sure you'll get used to it sooner than you think!" she heartens him.

"So there's nothing wrong and we still have two DOC vampires!" Matt sums up, relieved.

"Absolutely, yes, and you couldn’t make us prouder!" Michael confirms.

"Well, that's all I needed to know. What can I tell? Rachel, if your sister and her partner stop until that date, they are welcome at the date of Milan! " Matt informs her.

"Oh, thank you. I don’t know about them, but Michael and I certainly will not miss it! " she greets him, hanging up.

"Did you invite them  to the Italian date?" Dom asks.

"Yes, why? You have something against it? "Matt rolls his eyes.

"Not at all, quite the contrary, I'm glad to see them again. I owe a lot to them. " Dom smiles

\-------------------------------------------------- ------

"So, should we tell them sooner or later?" Dom asks, as he and Matt are flying to Paris, the day before the concert at the Casino, arriving just in time for the sound check in the afternoon.

"Say what, to whom? And before or after what? " Matt asks back, puzzled, perhaps because a little numb from the trip.

"You said we'd told the whole truth to our friends when we were in the same condition. Look, now I wallow happily in your same condition and I learned how to control myself, so there are no more excuses, we have to tell him!" the blond refreshes his Sire’s memory.

"You're right, I promised you. It’s just that .. come on, do you have the slightest idea how relevant this  news is? At least let the first concert of the tour happen in peace, we'll tell them later, calmly, at the end of the after-show. "

"Deal" the blond gives him an excited grin, before looking out the window, to allow Matt to sleep again.

\-------------------------------------------------- ------------

At the airport the two lovers find Tom, and Chris Morgan waiting for them.

"Look at him! You always have to act like a diva and arrive at the very last moment! We’ve been here for two days! " Tom exclaims, in a tone of reproach.

"But which one do you mean among us?" Dom wonders.

"Both, it’s the same!" the photographer replies.

"So, guys, is it all okay? Are you happy to start again?" Morgan asks them, much quieter.

"You bet!" Matt smiles, full of enthusiasm.

"Well, then let's go from here, there is a taxi waiting for us!" Tom informs them, making his way.

Chris comes forward, trapping them both in his typical bear hug.

"So, my dear troublemakers, what have you done during the break?" he asks them, lets them go and then observes them better. "Well, Dom, you have to be gone on vacation directly on the Sun!"

"So  witty as usual!" Matt snorts, while Dom is estimates, proud.

"Do you realize that there is very little time and we have to define the details yet?" Tom returns to the subject, as they go into the cab.

"What do you want us to refinish? We go up on stage. The crowd loves us. We play most of the new album. The crowd loves us. We add our most classic hit. The crowd loves us. We walk away for a short break, then come back with the final encore. The crowd loves us, We greet them and we leave and the crowd will begin to claim us out. End of the bloody details! " Matt snaps.

Dom, Chris and Morgan and watch in silence the controversy.

"You always make everything easy! And, tell me, with which song do you want to begin? Which ones you should continue with? What are the hit to be proposed? How to place you on stage? What special effects do you want ... " Tom begins his rant of details to define.

Matt doesn’t even listen to him anymore, confining himself to whispering something to Dominic who, oddly, sits next to him.

"Dommie, what do you say? Can we flee from here and go back to the sea?"

\------------------------------------------------

The sound check went so well and the details have been defined in such a short time that it took Tom a little less than two hours to find his usual good humor, and at the evening of the concert, before they begin, as their supporters are performing their songs, Dom goes to Matt’s dressing room and finds him sitting on the couch, on with his beloved Glitterati on his lap, committed to perform some riffs, but without plugging her in.

"Nervous?" the blond starts, coming closer.

"Not really, and then we know, Paris loves us!" Matt smiles. "And you?" he asks immediately after.

Dom takes a seat next to him, looking for his hand.

"It's not the concert that I’m worried about. It’s what happens next.” he confesses.

"But how? It was you who ... "

"Yes, Matt, I know, I insisted that we may tell the truth, and I certainly have not changed my mind, it's just that right now we're almost there ... and I'm afraid!" he mutters, shaking his lover’s hand.

"If I recall right,  you loved risky situations, didn’t you?" Matt jokes about it.

"It’s a different kind of panic now. I fear that we'll lose them, that we will not understand us ... "

"Shh." the brunet silences him, placing a finger on the percussionist’s lips.

"It's going to be okay. They are our best friends, they are for a lifetime, it is time to find out  how much they still can be our best friends." he replies. "And you must forget those terrible nightmares. Did you see that they were wrong about us? I am sure that they are wrong even about our friends’ reactions. Everything will be more than fine." he insists, kissing his Childe’s forehead, before going on strumming his guitar.

"You're right." the drummer beams.

"One day something will happen to her, something bad, it will be my fault, I can feel it!" Matthew mutters, looking at his Glitterati. "If only I could turn her into a vampire, I’d protect her by time, by the irreparable damages, by destruction ... but I cannot, right?" he sighs sadly.

Dominic looks at him bewildered.

"Ummmm no, Mattie, I do not think it's possible. Okay, she also has a neck, but it is not the same thing!" he tries to reason with him. "I'm sure you'll have great care of her and even if one day something bad is going to happen ... the good old Manson guy will remedy!" he heartens the guitarist.

"Right ... but it's such a pity anyway!" the stubborn frontman strikes back.

\-------------------------------------------------- -------------

As expected, the concert is a real triumph.

Matt and Dom manage to isolate themselves with some fans and dine in absolute discretion and the after show continues in the more serene atmosphere, until comes to an end and the five friends are back to the hotel.

"Before going to sleep, there's one thing that Matt and I would like to tell you." Dom announces.

"What is it?" Chris frowns.

"It's better if we talk about it in my room." Matt decides. "And it's better that we face only one of you at a time. Let's start with you, Morgan!"

"It will take me a lot?" the bassist mutters, who begins to feel pretty exhausted.

"That depends on you." Dom replies mysteriously, walking away with Matt and the keyboardist.

After less than ten minutes, Chris and Tom see their friend return to the corridor.

"I knew it! I knew that it was so! And I had even told you that! " Morgan chuckles.

"But ... what are you babbling about?" Chris looks at him confused.

"Oh, you’ll see! And it will be fun! " Morgan grins, already savouring his revenge. "They want you to be the next, Tom." he informs him, saying goodbye and leaving.

"If  it takes you too much, tell them that I will sleep well on the carpet as I wait for my turn!" Chris yawns, watching at his friend walking away.

 

"Come in, Tom!" Dom opens the door, feeling their friend arrive from the distance.

"So, what's all the mystery? What do you need to tell me? " the media manager snorts.

"Sit down, you'll need it!" Matt indicates the chair to him, while Dom goes back to sit beside the singer on the bed.

"Okay, I'm sitting. Can you decide to talk? " Tom insists.

But Dom and Matt avoid talking and go directly to the facts, exchanging a kiss that is not too deep, but not too chaste either.

Tom bursts out laughing.

"What's this? An advertising idea? Do you want to use it for an upcoming video? It might be a good idea, too bad that we have no single outgoing ... of course! We will use it to promote your upcoming album to be released! " the human begins to daydream.

"Tom, Tom! Stop it! It is nothing of all this crap! "Matt interrupts him.

"It 's just the reality." Dom murmurs, holding his mate tight.

"Were not you .. pretending? " Tom wonders, startling.

"Nope, not at all!" Matt shakes his head.

"But ... how could this happen? Why?" their friend goes on with his questions, prey of skepticism.

"Well, it was inevitable. Come on, have you ever noticed anything, have you ever had the slightest suspicion? "Dom asks him

"I just thought you were good friends, very good friends .. okay, a little more friends than it’s normally allowed to be friends, "replied Tom, but the nervousness only makes him become significantly repetitive.

"We were much more than friends. Both were hoping there might be something more, but we did not have the courage to declare to each other our true feelings and then ... something happened, something that led us to discover the truth." Matt says.

"How long have you been together?" Tom asks them.

"Since last December." Dom declares in all sincerity.

"And why did not tell us?"

"We were waiting for you to be ready." Matt replies. "Does it make change anything for you?" he adds.

"I ... do not know! I mean, you can not dump this bomb on me and expect me to answer you right away ... let me think." Tom justifies, rising from his chair, about to leave.

"It seems more than normal to me. It’s just that .. that's not all. There’s something else you need to know. "Matt blocks him. putting him back down the seat.

"Yeah. We just confined to say this to Morgan, because with him we do not have the deep bond of friendship that we have with you and Chris instead, since we grew up together practically. That’s why we have spent with him a shorter time, he immediately proved to be very convi9nced and very little surprised." Dominic says, before exchanging a glance with Matt.

"The truth is that ... the thing that made us approach is a thing that happened to Matt ... and then to me." he begins.

"What happened?" Tom urges the blond to talk, exasperated.

Dominic takes some time to pause before continuing.

"At the end of last year, Matt has been turned into a vampire ... and recently he has turned me as well!" the drummer decides to reveal.

"Oh my god, no!" Tom exclaims agitated, standing up and sheltering behind the chair, for instinct.

"But how? Do you believe just to our word? You do not need any proof, do you? " Matt asks him, confused, getting up to approach.

"No! Get away from me, I do not want you to show me anything. Come on, it is not possible that it is only the fruit of legends and classical literature, there are too many details, too many features, too much information ... it is something that any human imagination could never give birth to. It makes sense that vampires are not fictional. They exist... and I'm closer to them than how I dared to imagine! "he moans scared, clutching the chair up to the risk of breaking it.

"Well, I didn’t think you were so inclined to believe these things .. " Dom smiles

"And now that I think better about it ... before Matt was a bit too fast to reach me and then go sit back on the bed!" the human ponders out loud, more and more restless.

"It 's true, I may have accidentally used the super speed!" the pianist admits.

"I just have to get me the silver bullets ... no, damn, those are for the werewolves. Then the kryptonite, no .. that weakens SuperMan ... I can set you on fire! But what works only with the mummies ... I will break your magic wands ... ah no, that only applies to wizards or witches or .. "

"Tom!" Dom stops the flow of his thoughts, going towards him.

"I pray you, in the name of our friendship, do not kill me!"

"Tom, calm down, I assure you that we do not kill anyone!" Matthew explains, soft-spoken.

"Really?" the photographer swallows heavily, peeping out of the armchair, slowly and shyly.

"But of course ... and we have no intention to drink your blood, either." Dom assures

Tom gets up, looking annoyed.

"Why not, excuse me? I am very bitable and my blood is appetizing! "He says proudly.

"What are you doing, do you want to tease us?" Dom chuckles.

"No! What the hell am I saying? Please, ignore my stupid self! " Tom rectifies, diving back behind the armchair.

"Come on, Tom, nothing bad will happen to you!" Matt reassures him, pulling him away from the armchair.

"We promise that we will answer all your questions and doubts, but not now." Dom asserts.

"We just wanted to make you aware of the current situation, for all the other details there is time, we'll talk about it for a long time." Dom promises.

"Then .. ca-can I g-go? " Tom wonders, his voice wavering.

"Only if you promise not to run away from the hotel!" Dom teases him, chuckling.

"Also because if you do we will find you, wherever you hide ... and our revenge will be merciless!" Matt has fun scaring him.

"No, no, no! I will do anything like that, no one escapes, tomorrow we'll talk about it for as long as you please ... now I'm going to call here Chris." he announces, before walking away.

 

"Guys, can I know what's happening?" Chris asks, entering in a hurry. "Tom did not want to anticipate anything, but he had such a terrible face!" he says, worried.

"Chris ... we will try to dwell as little as possible, all at once, rid the tooth, rid the pain!" Dom announces.

"I do not give a damn to teeth .. all I want is a bed!" Chris yawns, tired. "And now hurry up to tell me anything you want to tell me!"

"Now we are two vampires!" the other two announce, in chorus.

"Oh yes, of course! And I'm Frankenstein! " Chris laughs. "What the fuck have you drunk tonight? You seemed to be quite sober!" he says.

"Look!" Matt comands, flashing his blue eyes unnaturally, as well as Dom makes his eyes shimmer of a disturbing fluorescent green.

Chris remains impassive.

"Nice trick, guys! And where can I find those contact lenses? They’re so incredibly cool!"

"But. no .. there is no lens! "Matt protests. "Look!" he tries again, showing his fangs elongated, with Dom following his example.

Chris shows no signs of shock.

"Retractable fake canines! You have really thought about everything. I want to see how they works now! There is an engine, right? Or a lever .. or "

Chris is slammed in his chair, without even having the time to realize it, to find himself in front of Matt. "Do you think that was a special effect, too?" he interrogates, a little bothered.

Dom takes his friend’s hand and leads on his own heart. "Do you feel it? No pulse. How do you explain this? " he asks the bassist, giving him more trouble.

Chris jumps on the chair so much that it threatens to tip over.

"Oh fuck, but how the hell is this possible? It can not be! You ... Stay away from me! "Chris gets up, backing off nervously.

"Chris, you shouldn’t fear anything .. it’s all as before, it's just ... happened! " Matt explains.

"And now what do you want to do to me? Kill me, because I know your secret? Or ... do you want to make me become like you? " the terrified bassist wonders.

"No, Chris, we could never do anything like that." Dom calms him down.

"Although ... if you wanted to stay with us forever, there could be another way ..." Matt creeps, intriguing both the human and Dom "But this is not the pwoper time to talk about it, there will be time for everything." he adds.

"But ... what happened? When? Where? Why?" Chris overwhelms them with questions.

"As Matt has already said, we'll talk about it for a long time, we will clarify all your doubts, but not now." Dom insists.

"So ... aren’t you going to kill me?" Chris wonders with suspicious .

"Nope, we do not kill anyone!" Matt asserts.

"I like that." Chris shows half smile, still too uptight.

"Do you think you can accept it?" Dom asks him, apprehensive.

"I can try. But I need time and I have to understand everything .." the human replies.

"And you’ll understand everything, don’t worry."

"So, can I go and we will talk about it again with more time tomorrow?" Chris wonders, as he’s about to reach the door.

"Not yet. There’s something else you should know. " Matt announces.

"Yeah. Now comes the hard part. " Dom bites his lower lip nervously, with his normal teeth.

"What? Wasn’t this the difficult part? "Chris watches him confused.

"I'm afraid it wasn’t." The blond shakes his head, approaching the frontman and taking his hand.  
"Chris, you must know that ... Matt and I love each other and we are together!" the percussionist confesses with the guitarist who just nods.

All the two lovers hear is a thud and then they see Chris lying on the ground, unconscious.

Dom winces worried, while Matt rolls his eyes.

"Here we go, now I’d really need those prodigious salts ..."

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok ... a few quick little note:
> 
> I know it's unusual: a vampire who has trouble to not breathe ... but what can I say? My vampire, my rules XD
> 
> ah the hotel exists seriously, can you easily picture them those two have fun in a place like this? http://www.hoteligieapalermo.com/images/luxury-room-1.jpg
> 
> ^ ^
> 
> Did you like it? Did you not? Did you fall asleep? XD Pleeease, let me know anyway <3
> 
> kisses, bye ... expect something ... weird in next chapter, to be honest, I don’t know if you’ll really like it :/


	29. Chapter XXIII: It's not our worst crime, our souls will be okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time for our beloved vampires to face their friends and their curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo  
> thanks for kudos, sowwy for late, but RL is keeping me so busy..
> 
> not betaed and not-re-read sowwy for awful mistakes...
> 
> Disclaimer: the title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ‘Soaked by Muse , because it was oh so damn fitting, esp. for the second part… *shuts up*

"Sweet dreams, Chris!" Matthew exclaims, placing him in the bed, after he and Dom have dragged the bassist in his room.  
   
"But… are we really going to leave him in this passed out state?" Dominic wonders.  
   
"Why not? After all, he just seems to be sleeping. He did not hit his head and he’s not injured in any way ... we would perceive that otherwise. "Explains his Sire.  
   
"You're right. Let ‘s let him rest,then. "Dom approves, leaving the room with Matt.  
   
"What did you mean when you said to Chris that he could stay with us forever, but without becoming a vampire?" his Childe grows curious. "Does it mean that I could have done that, too?" 

"I knew you'd asked this question." Matt smiles.  
   
"But you're not going to give me an answer, am I right?"  the blond figures out, as acute as a detective.  
   
"Not now. You'll know when Chris does. But, trust me, you would never have accepted and mostly I wouldn’t have! " the brunet winks, while they return to their room.  
   
"Dominic, you're probably saying that you repent of your choice, aren’t you?" the pianist figures out, frowning, while he half-closes the door behind them.  
   
 He just has the  time to say that and finds himself with the drummer who presses his back against the door, smashing his  lips to Matt’s.  
   
"Not even for a moment." the blond whispers in his ear, then licks his neck.  
   
"After all, if it wasn’t so, I could not do _this_." the blond says, sinking his fangs in the right side of the guitarist’s neck, without any warning, making his Sire moan in ecstasy, while he gives his Childe as much access as possible.  
   
" _This."_ the inexperienced vampire separates from Matthew, soothing the two small red holes with his tongue. "But mostly _this_!" he adds, and within a few seconds Matt finds himself thrown on the bed, wearing only his boxers, with an equally stripped Dom upon him, involved in a kiss that makes the singer  taste his own blood.  
   
"I must say, love, you were damn convincing!" Matt giggles, before reversing their roles.  
   
"Did you see, honey? We took in. Now at least our closest friends know that, some know everything, someone just something. "Dominic smiles beneath Matthew.  
   
"Yeah, well, at least no one will ask more questions if you and I share the same room during the tour." Matt nods, stroking his hair.  
   
"It was not even that difficult, right?" Dom recalls, pinching his sides.  
   
"Well, if we do not take account of  our, poor ,terrified friend and of the one who passed out, no, it was not difficult at all!" the other chuckles, and then get more serious. "What matters the most is that ... have you seen? No one has slammed the door in our face, no one has repudiated us. There are still our friends. There is still the music. There are still the two of us. There is everything. "he points out, intertwining the fingers of  his eternal mate’s hand with his.  
   
"It 's true. Why did I have to have all those horrible nightmares? " the blond snorts.  
   
"You had to, at least I can show you how reality is wonderfully different." Matt whispers, kissing Dom  as gently as possible and kiss after kiss they fall asleep in each other's arms.  
   
 -------------------------------------------------- -  
   
-They are just beautiful together! The only thing missing is that they start to spoon-feed each other.- Morgan thinks, watching them with a softened smile.  
   
\- If I order a garlic soup for breakfast, maybe they will stay away from me for the whole day, but also the rest of the world will ... and it makes me sick to my stomach the only thought of eating something like that at this time of the day! - Tom reflects, watching them with anxiety which he tries to disguise.  
   
\- Maybe I dreamed the whole thing. After all, it was so absurd. And then they stand there, quiet and blessed in the full light of the sun filtering through the window. They are not vampires. So maybe it is not even true that they are together. But ... no, they're too close. What am I saying? Since I met them for the first time those two have always been too close! – Chris broods, a bit confused, watching them with suspicion.  
   
"Oh no, guys, if you keep staring at me like that I can’t eat!" Dominic complains, holding his croissant in the air, undecided about what to do.  
   
"I doesn’t change anything to me, since by now I'm used to being watched!" Matthew shrugs, sitting beside him, buttering his rusk as if nothing happened.  
   
"I guess you will have a thousand questions for us, am I right?" the drummer figures out, after deciding to bite his croissant.  
   
"I'm ashamed of you guys!" Morgan mutters, finishing his coffee, while casting glances of reproach to Tom and Chris.  
   
"Why cannot you just accept it and rejoice for our friends? Why do you need to submerge them with questions? " the keyboardist goes on, indignantly putting the cup on the saucer and  getting up from the table, since he has finished his breakfast.  
   
"You are a great couple, my friends, whatever they others dare to think!"  he replies, smiling at Matt and Dom who reciprocate, before leaving.  
   
"In case you're wondering, Morgan is aware of only one of our two secrets and I guess you can figure out which one." Dominic reveals to the two humans.  
   
"Oh. Well, this makes everything more clear." Tom asserts.  
   
"Okay, let’s come to the point. Have you thought about what we have confessed to you yesterday?" Matthew interrogates them.  
   
"Yes, I've overcome the first thing and I will tell you more, if you ever get married, I'll be more than happy to film your wedding.  It’s the other thing that still bothers me a little.' " the photographer mutters.  
   
"Oh, thanks, you’re so nice!" Dom smiles tenderly "But in a certain way, Matt and I are already married." he adds, turning a quick glance at his mate, who nods.  
   
"Oh, damn it! It was not a dream then! "Chris mutters.  
   
"Okay, I think it is appropriate to have a long talk." Matthew concludes.  
   
"Yeah, but I think that we can talk more freely in our room." Dom suggests.  
   
"Ri-right in your room?" Tom babbles nervously while he tortures a cuticle with his teeth.  
   
"Would it make you feel more comfortable if we went to in your room?" the blond asks him.  
   
"Nope, because I still have to decorated it with cloves of garlic and there is not even a crucifix." Tom strikes back, more and more nervous, so much that he painfully rips the skin from his finger and it bleeds.  
   
"Ouch! Back off, you two! You will not have anything from me! " he intimates the vampires, sucking greedily his finger.  
   
"I'm fine with my croissant, thank you!" Dominic shrugs, taking another bite.  
   
 Even Matt nods, giggling as he sips his juice.  
   
"It’s red oranges juice!"  he feels the urge to point out to the two human friends, aware of how they are staring at the thick red juice with suspicion.  
   
"Bloody hell! Confess, Bells ... you did  it on purpose!" Chris grumbles.  
   
"Yep, i did!" their interlocutor admits wittingly, sticking out his tongue at them.  
   
"By the way, why do you eat and drink .. something that’s not blood? " the bassist wonders.  
   
"More importantly, why do you stand exposed to sunlight without becoming dust? I mean, it’s not that I want you to become dust, of course, it’s just that I don’t understand ... wait, sure! It’s because there are the glasses, right? " the photographer hazards, very curious.  
   
"We can go outside, if you prefer, and you can see that nothing will happen to us." the singer smiles.  
   
"Yeah, about why we still eat ... food is a habit that we do not want to quit." the percussionist explains.  
   
"Why?" their  friends ask in unison.  
"Now let’s finish breakfast, then we will talk about everything for a long time, in Chris's room." the more expert vampire decides and no one objects. "By the way, Tom, even those decorations would have been useless!" he grins., astonishing his interlocutor. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"That's why you always wear that strange pendant!" Tom says, at the end of the explanation.

"And that’s why now Dom wears half of it" Chris adds, staring at the white half on the chain around the percussionist’s neck.

"This is such a fantastic invention, isn’t it?" the blond giggles, fiddling with his half of the pendant.

"Well, at least, you haven’t fucked your career up ... it would not be easy to work only at night!" the manager states.

"Hey, wait a minute. I remember what you said before. " the bass player recalls. "Did you get married and have not told us anything? No, wait, it’s worse, you have not even invited us! When and where it happened? "he interrogates them, a bit offended.

"You sneaked in Las Vegas during the break, didn’t you?" Tom dares to guess.

"Not really ..." Matt mumbles, stroking his neck.

"It happened just over a week ago, in London, in one of the houses of the vampire who created Matthew." Dom says "While we were in bed." he adds, with a grin.

"Uh! No, no, then I am delighted that we have not been invited! "Chris mutters, embarrassed.

"No, that's not a kind of video that I’m ready to film!" Tom mumbles.

"Well, it was not a marriage as you humans consider it." the blond vampire point out.

"Yeah. It was a blood marriage, which we continue to renew. " the brunet vampire adds, exchanging an understanding gaze with his mate, while they’re holding hands, and this before they notice  the expressions of dismay on their friends’ features.

"Too many details, right?" Matt figures out, leaving Dom’s hand.

"Yes, damn you!" Chris hisses, annoyed.

"Co- could you pl-please avoid saying 'you humans'? It scares the hell out of me!” Tom nervously stutters, since he’s still has some difficulty to accept their new nature. "It makes you so different." he justifies, with a calmer tone.

"But we're different now!" Dominic chuckles.

"But at the same time we are always the same." Matthew adds.

"The most important thing is that you do not kill anyone, right?" the video-maker searches for another confirmation.

"Absolutely no one!" Matt assures.

"Although I was  very close to do that." Dom confesses.

Chris and Tom bounce on their chairs, eyes wide, terrified.

"Was that really necessary?" Matt snorts, looking at his boyfriend with an air of reproach.

"Yep, I want them to know the truth to the very end, even the most uncomfortable one. " the blond replies, ready to make his friends aware of  the other neglected details.

\-------------------------------------------------- -

"But, Dom ... now you are no longer like that ... aren’t you?" Tom asks him hesitant, at the end of the story.

"Nope. It’s been a few days since my demon and my soul have established a sort of mutual forbearance. If they hadn’t,  forget the bloody tour! I'd be still chained to a wall, under Matthew’s extreme supervision, ask him! " the drummer replies.

"Yeah, they weren’t good days at all ..." the frontman mumbles.

"However, it is not advisable to stay close to me around midnight, if I still have to feed!" Dom warns them, making his Sire laugh.

"I guarantee. It would not be a wise choice. It seems that my demon is a regular visitor to his yoga classes, while Dom’s is a sort of drug-addicted in its worst stage of abstinence. " Matt explains. "But, be assured, when there are the concerts we are spoiled with all the choice we have among the fans." the brunet smirks.

"Ok I'll keep that in mind. Tonight there are no concerts. Chris and I will leave you on your own. " the manager decides.

"Guys, I think Kelly should know it." Chris states and the two concerned guys approve with a nod.

"However, no one will believe you so easily. Do I need to remind you how you've been skeptical when we told you? " the brunet vampire makes him notice.

"I know, but I still have to do that." the bassist insists, by dialing the number and putting viva-voce to make everyone participate in the conversation.

"Hey, Chris!" a happy Kelly trills.

"Are you alone?" The bassist asks her.

"Yes, but .. why? Do you already have spicy ideas early in the morning?" the woman murmurs with a seductive tone.

Chris blushes visibly, staring at the floor for a long time not to cross the expressions that he knows that his friends are showing off.

"Ummmm ... no, love, because, to begin with, we are not alone and I put you on speaker!" he informs her at the apex of embarrassment.  
"Uh ! Oh well, then in this case 'Hello!' To those who are listening! " Kelly  greets quietly, as if nothing has happened, and the others greet her in response.

"Anyway, Chris has tons of spicy ideas!" she informs them, chuckling.

"Oh, we hadn’t any doubt about it." Matt giggles.

"Can we change topic?" the poor Chris begs everyone.

"As you wish, Mr. Spicy-Ideas !" Tom replies, ruthless.

"Something tells me that you have just earned a new nickname for the whole tour!" Dom grins.

"You looked for trouble, my dear!" Kelly sentences. "So why did you ask me if I was alone?"

"Because I'm about to tell something important and children must not be there." the husband replies.

"Here we go. No kids. Now spit it out." his wife urges him.

"It is not easy. Sometimes things happen, things that we consider impossible and go even beyond the wildest imagination ... " Chris starts.

"Bloody hell! How long does it take him to say that we are together? "Dominic whispers to Matt Dominic, looking annoyed.

"No, baby, I think he's trying to say that other thing." the other whispers back, amused.

"Huh, yes. So it makes sense! "the blond nods in a whisper.

"Chris, you start to make me worry this way. What do you want to tell me? "Kelly is alarmed.

"Matt & DomHaveBeenTurnedIntoTwoVampires!" Chris decides to reveal all in one breath, , and then he hear the ringing tone on the other side.

"It must be cut off." he mutters.

"No, I think she deliberately hung up, dude." Tom says. "Is this the way to give such a  news?"

"Why? Do you know a better way to give such a news? "Chris strikes back, calling  his wife again.

"Kelly, I ..."

"Christopher! I have a lot of committees and I have better things to do than sit here and listen to your stupid jokes and ... "

"It's not a joke." her husband cuts her off.

"Oh yes, of course it’s not!" she snorts.

"Kelly, come on, you know me for a life-time, you know I would never lie about a matter so delicate. Why should I? "

"Because you have such idiot friends! No offense, Matt, Dom and Tom. "she says.

"No offense!" the two vampires replicate in unison.

"Hey, why do I get involved?" Tom protests indignantly.

"You always get involved in trouble!" the woman answers back, pungent.

"Kelly, look, it's not a joke conceived by the three of them. It 's all true. It 's normal that you do not believe me at first, I would have the same reaction if you told me such a thing and I was not there in person, to see. But I am, I checked everything out and it is only a matter of time before you see that with your eyes. And then you’ll be forced to believe. " Chris asserts.

"I believed, even without seeing too much." Tom confesses.

"I do not know it this may help, but I assure you that it is the truth and that we are peaceful vampires, then you don’t have to fear anything." Dominic explains.

"Most of the vampires is with peaceful nature, there is a lot of misinformation about it!" Matthew adds, peremptory.

"Spare to me the conference about the undead at another time, Matt!" Kelly strikes back, all having fun.

"Kelly, no matter how absurd it may seem, it's real, I swear to Buster and Teddi" her husband retorts.

"Who are they?" she frowns.

"Our baby who you have inside you, Buster if it is a boy, Teddi if it is a girl. " the bassist smiles, since he’s been thinking about those names for a long time.

"Oh, I like them. And why not both? "she murmurs.

"This is the woman I love!" her husband moans languid.

"I think you should remove the speaker phone." Tom advices him.

"There’s no need. Anyway, Chris, Matt and Dom are free to do what they want, but there’s no  way that you become a living dead like them! " Kelly orders him, with a tone of authority.

"Technically, the living dead are zombies, while we are .. "

"Shut up, Matt!" she interrupts him. "And you got me, Chris, woe to you if you come home fanged" she hangs up.

"I do not think that she has taken the news seriously yet ..." Chris mutters, staring at the phone.

"There will be time for that. However, even without becoming a vampire, in case you want to stay with us forever and be forever young, there would be a way ... "Matthew announces, before explaining to his three interlocutors what a human slave is and what it brings to.

"So you would not be forced to drink my blood, right?" Chris asks for confirmation at the end of the explanation.

"Nope, beyond the bite needed to make you a human slave, I’m not forced to feed on you at all." the brunet vampire confrims.

"You did well not to tell me about it. It would not be the same thing." Dom disapproves , with the great satisfaction of his boyfriend.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Chris. In the case you become my human slave, I could never have sex with you. " the singer informs him.

"I'll try to live with it!" the bass player plays his game.

"Matt, you've done very well not to tell me about it! I would never accept it! " the blond vampire reiterates.

"I don’t know, I don’t really like this option .. probably it’s the word 'slave'" Tom grumbles.

"It 's fictitious. I already told you that your freedom would not be constrained in any way. " Matthew repeats.

"I am not convinced, anyway." the photographer shakes his head.

"I don’t think it’s such a bad prospect, but I cannot think about eternity without my Kelly by my side ..." the handsome bass player muses.

"Well, if I understood correctly, every vampire has the right to choose a human slave, right? And I'm a vampire, so ... " Dom hazards.

"We need to know if Kelly would agree." Chris mumbles.

"You will have plenty of time to discuss about it. You know, sooner than one year of un-life, aka mid-December, I cannot do anything like that and even after that date it’s something that you can decide to do with calm, whenever you like. " the more expert vampire states.

"You see? You do have  really have time to think about something.  Matt gave me only fourteen, stupid days! "Dom informs his friend, glaring at the guitarist.

"It was so at the beginning, then you escaped at the last moment and when you came back I gave you a lot more time, until it was inevitable!" Matthew defenses.

"Sure .. and you know, Chris, he wanted it so much that he has not even bothered to get info about how to make a correct transformation! " the percussionist strikes back, witty.

"But then I did it and I think everything went for the better, don’t you think so?" the pianist retorts.

 "Oh yes, save my time as PsycoKiller-wanna-be I had  after the transformation!" the blond points out, impassive.

Chris and Tom burst out laughing.

"Guys, vampires or not, you've not changed one bit!" the first sentences.

"Always bickering about anything!" the second adds.

(end I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it (pleeeeease, let me know ;) )
> 
> More to come… get ready for everything!


	30. XXIV I : It won’t be long before I disturb you in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew and Dominic deal with the consequences of what they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: thanks to ilurvebelldom , for being such a wonderful person, for her huge help and her huge patience, too <3, when she still used to be my beta
> 
> Disclaimer: the title of the chapter is taken from the lyrics of ‘Megalomania’ by Muse.

Chapter XXIV I : It won’t be long before I disturb you in the dark

Dominic and Matthew are returning to their room, giggling amused like children who have just discovered a beautiful game.

"We took a life!” the guitarist reiterates.

"Yeah, right here. “the drummer nods, even more excited, pointing to the floor. "First there was someone here... and now she's gone!” he shows a cheeky smile.

"And we’ve been very good. Look, there isn't even a single stain!” the brunet points out, looking in his direction.

“It’s what you'd call a _clean job_!” Dom grins, ruffling Matt’s hair.

 “Now you sound like a mobsters Button! “Matthew bursts out laughing with him, right before holding him tight.

"Huh! You know what? Now I feel like watching "The Godfather” again!” the blond comments. "Do you think they'd have it on TV here?” he turns the TV on and sits down on the bed, surfing through the channels.

“I don't think so, Dommeh.” Matt sits down next to him, taking the remote from his hand and turning the TV off. “But as soon as we finish the tour and we go back home, we’ll watch  the entire trilogy in HD and Dolby surround... or maybe we can look only at the scenes with blood.” he suggests, while he places light kisses on the blond’s neck.

“Mm...” Dom purrs, tilting his head to allow him better access. “I like that. And maybe we'll also look at “Pulp Fiction” and “From Dusk Till Dawn”... nope, even better, let’s watch the entire Tarantino filmography!” the blond suggests.

“An entire splatter marathon!” Matt smiles at him, continuing his business.

“It 's such a  bloody tempting plan too.” Dom approves, chuckling, before Matt abandons the tempting neck, only to seize equally tempting lips, scraping on purpose his lower lip with his teeth, much to the delight of his Childe.

At the end of the long, juicy kiss, his Sire licks Dom’s wounded lip, healing it.

"You should do it more often.”  the blond encourages him.

Suddenly, Matthew becomes more serious, with a frown.

"Shit, Dom! Just look at us, what have we become? We just killed someone and here we are talking about movies and kissing each other, as if nothing happened! “ the other vampire plays the role of conscience.

“Well, that bitch was asking for it, so she just deserved the end she got” Dom shrugs.

“No doubt about it! “Matt agrees with him, with a snarl.

“And killing her together was so exciting.” Dominic whispers in Matt’s ear, nibbling the lobe and sending a shiver of pleasure down his mate’s spine. “Do you dare to deny it?"

“I don't deny it at all. It was almost orgasmic!” Matthew admits, not mincing words.

“And, tell me, do you actually feel guilty about what we have done, about what you actually decided to do?” his Childe scrutinizes the singer, with the attitude of someone who already knows the answer.

“Nope, not a bit!” Matthew smiles. “But, Dominic, don’t you think had we done this as human beings... we would have felt a guilty conscience grow?” he interrogates his lover.

"Yeah, which burns like the sun, but we cannot look away? “the less experienced vampire adds, chuckling. “Bells, you just have to stop talking through lyrics!"

"Dom, I was serious! “ the brunet protests with a soft growl.

 

“I don’t know, Matthew, and, frankly, I don't even want to think about it!” the blond shrugs. “I'm fine the way I am now. “ he murmurs, more peaceful, with a half smile.

"Me too.” Matt smiles back at him, stroking Dominic’s face with the back of his hand, before awareness hits him like a boulder.

“Oh, fuck, Dom, we're doomed!“ he exclaims,  leaping to his feet and leaving the bed.

“What's the matter?“ his boyfriend stares at him, confused.

“Don't you understand? We’ve killed. We have broken the main rule, indeed, the only rule that  Michael and Rachel  had imposed to us! “ Matt explains, walking nervously back and forth across the room. “We ate the forbidden fruit of the fucking, bloody Eden Garden where they had put us, they’re going to tear to shreds our membership card, we scored an own goal playing on our own ground...“ he begins to babble, ranting and gesticulating like a madman.

Dom runs towards him, holding his hands still.

“Bells, calm down!“ he orders the pianist.

“And how am I fucking supposed to fucking calm down? We are dust, Dom! “ Matt protests, almost screaming.

The blond just has to slap Matt’s cheek and it seems to work out.

“You forget that Michael and Rachel do not know that... and they never will.”  the blond points out quietly.

“But we are going to see them in two days. “ the brunet points out.

"Exactly. We have two full days to cool off the adrenaline. They won't notice anything.” the other assures.

“Do you really think so?“ the singer raises an eyebrow skeptically.

"I'm sure. “ the drummer smirks, self-confident, going back to the bed and inviting the other to join him.

“Maybe you're right. “Matt mumbles, slipping under the covers and turning the light off.

"Hey, Matteh...“ Dom purrs, moving closer to him.

“Mm... "

"Speaking of orgasmic things and about the need to cool off adrenaline... "

There is no need for Dominic to say anything more, because Matt has already jumped on top of him, ready to start a relentless battle of dominance with the drummer.

And it doesn't really matter who the winner is.

\---------------------------------------------------

Refreshed by good rest, the morning after Matt and Dom find Chris and Tom at the table, waiting for them.

“Are you still... “ Tom hesitates, watching them cautiously.

“Vampires?“ Dominic prompts, amused.

"Yep,“ his interlocutor mumbles, uncomfortably.

“Does it seem to you a pwoper question? “Matthew asks him, equally amused.

"What do I know? I thought that since it happened all of a sudden, it could go away and undo all the effects the same way.“ the photographer justifies, through clenched teeth.

“I don't think that's possible. This is what we have become and this is what we will remain.” the singer explains.

“And are you still... in love? “Chris dares to ask.

"You don’t even deserve an answer! “ the drummer snorts annoyed.

“Well, Dommeh, it means we weren’t loud enough last night! “  Matt winks at his boyfriend, while cutting his toast, his sapphire eyes glinting with mischief.

Chris almost chokes on the ham that he’s eating and Tom almost spits his juice out.

"Guys, for future reference, less details please! “ the bassist hisses.

"Guys, for future reference, less stupid questions, please! “ the frontman strikes back, on the same lines, with Dominic approving with a nod.

"Otherwise, next time Matt and I might even decide to spoon-feed each other, in front of you.” the blond threatens their friends.

"That's right, something like bite, kiss, bite, kiss, bite... “ his partner feels compelled to add.

“For heaven's sake! No more stupid questions, I got it. “ the bassist promises, horrified.

“Bite?!” the media manager almost screams, very agitated.

Dom chuckles.

“Geez, Tommy boy, relax! We didn’t mean it literally!” he rolls his eyes.

Matthew smirks, leaning closer to the drummer and sniffing his nape.

“Well, it could be an idea.” he murmurs, placing his open mouth on Dom’s neck

 

Chris grimaces because it’s a too intimate scene too watch for his liking, Tom jolts because he knows that it could lead to very dangerous and supernatural stuff.

“Just joking!” Matt giggles innocently, parting from a quite disappointed Dom.

"Well, if it’s only about kissing and food, I would not make a fuss over that scenario…“ Tom shrugs, once he has calmed down, continuing to eat.

"So, in your case, Tom, Matt and I may decide to sneak into your room in the dark of the night to show you our beautiful, fluorescent eyes and our pretty elongated canines! “ Dom counters.

The poor media manager jumps on his chair.  
“No, no, no! No more stupid questions, I promise!” he swears, terrified.

“Is it real? Do you really have fluorescent eyes? “ Chris asks them, somewhat intrigued and the two vampires nod proudly.

“Don’t you remember? We have already showed them to you…” Dom reminds to him.

“Oh yes, it's true... but you know... it was such an overload of information, all in one night... I would like to see them better.” his interlocutor justifies, before receiving a kick under the table from Tom.

“Wolsty, shut up!” the media manager reproaches him, but at the same time he pleads him with his eyes.

“Okay, Kirky, but don’t you dare call me that again!” the bass player growls at his friend.

“So, does it mean that I'm allowed to step on your foot whenever I want? “ the video-director chuckles.

 

 

Meanwhile, the television is on, even if it’s an incomprehensible language, and it’s a sort of a background to the light-hearted banter of the four friends as they finish their breakfast.

At that moment the local news is broadcasting with the latest and most relevant events and out of the blue Dom and Matt see the forest in Zirndorf framed on the screen.

Dominic calls a waitress over. The percussionist had found out that the girls spoke English just the previous day.

“Excuse me, could you please tell us what they're talking about? “ he asks her politely, pointing to the screen.

“Sure. Oh, it’s such a terrible tragedy. A poor girl probably got lost in the forest and she's been devoured by wolves. "  the waitress gently translates to them. “The newscast has had the consideration to not show such shocking images. They said there were nothing left but her carcass, hair and tattered clothes.” she adds.

“You’re right, sweetheart, it’s such a creepy tragedy!” the blond pretends to be scandalized, a performance worthy of a Golden Globe.

"Thank you, lady, you’ve been very kind.” Matthew dismisses her with a smile and a charm that even Casanova would envy.

"Hey, since when do you two care about foreigners newscast? “ the photographer questions them, baffled.

“Oh, Thomas, I 'm surprised you ask, no matter where we are, information is always important! “ the guitarist naturally strikes back.

Tom swallows heavily, anguished by a terrible doubt.

“You’re not judging this as a stupid question... are you? "

\----------------------------------------

\----------------------------------------

Dom and Matt wait until everyone else falls asleep during the flight to Milan, in order to get back to a taboo subject.

"Those wolves have been providential.“ the blond smiles.

"Yeah. And it seems that no one has found the gun that we buried in the forest! “ the brunet smirks, pleased.

“Now we just have to deal with your Sire and his partner, and if we are calm and keep cool we’ll have nothing to worry about.“ Dom instructs him.

“You're right, love. They won't notice a thing! "

\--------------------------------------------------\----------------------------

 “You two have killed!” Rachel exclaims, dismayed, with a clear rebuke in her voice.

They are backstage at the San Siro stadium, about two hours before the concert, just long enough to find a secluded place where they can discuss such delicate issues.

 

“Yes, and you also liked it a lot!” Michael states.

“We had nothing to worry about and they would not have ever found out, huh?” Matthew whispers annoyed to his boyfriend.

“We can hear you... “ Rachel singsongs.

The two younger vampires have no choice but confess everything.

“I have only one favour to ask you.” Matt says at the end. "Before you make us reach the end of our days, can we at least perform our last concert? You know, I'm professional enough to care about these things! "

"Yeah, I care as well. So why don’t you go back to the parterre, get yourself comfortable and enjoy our very last show? We promise something epic!” Dom persuades them.

Rachel and Michael please them, following that advice.

“Last show? End of their days? But they really think that we are about to.... Oh, no, poor dears, I'm going to reassure them!“ Rachel babbles, determined to retrace her steps.

“Why should you do such a thing? Let them believe it, everything will be much more fun this way!” Michael grins naughty.

“You're impossible!” the vampiress snorts.

"And you love me! “  her Sire retorts.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Muse wait for their moment to come between interviews and other performances.  
At the moment the last band before them, Kasabian, are performing on stage and the three musicians observe them.

"Well, those guys aren’t bad at all, eh?” Chris smiles, losing himself in the rhythm.

Trying not to think that those are the last hours that they still have to spend on this Earth, Dom and Matt are enjoying the show, as long as the frontman of the guest band, with a not irrelevant amount of arrogance, does something totally unexpected and highly unwelcome to one of the Muse members.

“What the fuck?! That’s my platform, my fucking platform! MIIIIIIINE! “Matthew growls furiously. “What the hell is that rookie megalomaniac doing on my bloody platform? Who does he think he is? Me?" the frontman goes on with his tirade.

“Huh? No, Matt, I'm sure he didn’t do it on purpose, he has just been overwhelmed by the moment, the fans cheering him and, you know...”  Chris patiently finds a rational explanation.

"Do you really think he didn’t do that on purpose, huh? What? Are you bloody blind? Don’t you see how he keeps inciting his audience? Don’t you see how he’s enjoying being adored, just there, on my platform? “Matthew growls again. “But he’s going to pay for that, fuck yeah, now I’ll go on stage, rip his throat and drink his blood until the last drop! “ he swears, ready for action, if only Dominic wasn’t holding him so firmly.

“Let me go!” the brunet yells.

“Never! At least, not until you get over with this murderous rampage!” the blond strikes back, still holding Matt trapped in his iron grip.

“What’s the point? At the end of the concert, however, we’ll cease to exist, I might as well come out of the scene with a bang!” the pianist insists, wriggling.

“I said no!” Dom growls at him.

The drummer releases his boyfriend only when he gives a sign to have calmed down.

“What is this crap that you’ll cease to exist?” the bass player interrogates them, rather worried.

Dom laughs nonchalantly.

“Ah, but you know Matt, don’t you? He’s the usual braggart, always full of bullshit!” he shrugs and Chris seems to buy it.

"Huh, well, you’re right. But, correct me if I'm wrong; aren't you the vampire who used to freak out and Matt the one who kept you under control?”  the human questions the percussionist.

"Why? Do you really think that this happened because of his demon? “ the blond stares at the bassist, sceptically.

“Oh fuck, you're right. That was 200% human Matthew!” Chris mutters, while both he and Dom keep an eye on their best friend, which continues to grind his teeth following the performance.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The adrenaline of the concert is stronger than any fear that pervades them, that’s why Muse are giving their best and the crowd is in raptures.

And so far they have played only 'Upsrising', the opening song.

“ _Buonasera SanSirooo! Buonasera, Milanooooo! Buonasera Italiaaaaaaa.. ooh_!” Matt exclaims at the end of it.

He’s definitely charged-up, while he manages to do a perfect climax in the local language that Gaia has wasted so many years and so much energy trying to teach him, without encouraging results.

Dominic chuckles, remembering the lessons of Italian that he also took in the afternoon to be able to make a good impression and he can’t wait to put them into practice.  
The songs follow one another with a frenetic pace. The crowd sings their hearts out and squirms.

It’s time for  ' Stockholm Syndrome ', a song that Dominic is impatiently waiting for, not only because he loves playing it, but because, with the help of Tom and a large group of Italian fans, he’s planning a very nice surprise for Matthew.

At the end of that song, Dominic hits the drums in a precise way and immediately after  there’s a long whistle in the air, quite easy to hear.

It’s' the signal.

The fans of the first rows swell in a rush some heart-shaped, red balloons that they  have received by the organizers in the afternoon, and then they shake them in the air, while from the entire stadium a ' Happy Birthday, Matthew ' chorus rises, pretty loudly.

The celebrated guy looks at that huge ‘HAPPY B_DAY, MATT’ billboard card that did show itself in the central stands for the whole evening, before turning to look touched at Dom

The blond smiles back, satisfied with the result.

By giving the last encore to their fans, Muse end with a resounding ' Knights of Cydonia ' and after that both Matthew and Dominic linger a bit longer than usual in the greeting, perhaps to delay as much as possible what they know awaits them later.

Deciding that he cannot leave this world dressed like a flashy imitation of a Christmas tree, Matt walks to his dressing room, in order to change clothes and, of course, Dom follows his boyfriend.

"Wow! Did you see how much the crowd was involved? They also sang on the musical parts!” the drummer cheers.

“Dommeh, thank you for what you did.” the brunet whispers.

“Well, I'm not the only one, Tom has bent over backwards to help me. “ the blond waves his hand. "As far as I'm concerned, if they hadn’t sung, I would have hypnotized them all, one by one, from big screens... but then it would have been a mess with photos, filming and everything else... Luckily, it wasn’t necessary!” Dom grumbles, making his interlocutor laugh.

“It's not fair, though. I have a party in my honour that awaits me... and I won’t ever take part in it!” the pianist complains, pouting.

"Neither will I, for that matter. And I won’t even able to give you my gift!” Dom says regretfully.

“Well, at this point... can you tell me what it is?“ the youngest musician spurs him.

"No way, it’s a secret that I will carry to the grave... or in the afterlife... or wherever the hell dusted vampires end up!” the older jokes about it, before they both become more serious.

“Are you ready to leave this world? “ Matt questions him, dejected, stroking Dom’s face.

The blond smiles, holding the singer’s hand in his.

“If we leave it together, it can’t be that bad.” he whispers to his mate, as they exchange what they consider their very last kiss.

Michael and Rachel are waiting for them in an isolated area backstage, in the company of another girl who jumps eagerly, close to a tall, muscular guy who remains impassive.

Matthew nods to his Sire and his Queen to follow them in his dressing room, where they can have some privacy.

"Guys! It was an amazing concert!” Rachel congratulates, while Michael nods, making a short round of applauses.

“Yeah, yeah, thank you very much! “ Matt cuts short, closing the door. “Now let’s come to the damn point. I just hope that it is quick and painless.” the frontman hesitates, closing his eyes and opening his arms wide, in a sign of submission.

With a faint cry, Dom mimics his lover’s actions.

“Well, what exactly are we supposed to do now? “Michael asks them, visibly amused.

The frontman and the drummer's eyes snap open again.

“Well, you are supposed to kill us, now, it seems obvious.” Dominic whimpers.

“Yes, well, that's how it should go, right? Not that I’m complaining about it, but... why aren't you punishing us? “Matthew mutters, confused.

"Because I do not see a single reason why I should do it.” Michael replies quietly.

“But we have killed!” his Childe reminds him of that ‘simple’ fact.

“And we liked it a lot”  his Grand Childe feels obliged to point out.

“Do you want to give them explanations or can I do that?”  the Spanish vampire smirks, turning to his beloved.

“I do not agree much with the second point, but about the first... I don't think that she was an innocent, am I right?” Rachel makes them notice.

“We have always said that we do not tolerate those who kill innocent humans, but with the bad guys, the criminals and all sorts of evil people you are free to let go as you prefer. So, an ill-intentioned girl armed with a gun can definitely not belong to the 'good people’ category.” her boyfriend states.

Dominic and Matthew find it hard to believe their ears.

“My children, I know very well the excitement for a healthy killing... I miss it a little!” Michael adds, winking at them.

“Michael! You’re not following their example, I hope.” Rachel snorts, annoyed.

“Bo-ri-ng“ Michael disguises it with fake coughing.

“Well, last night you certainly did not think I was boring, not judging by how I made you scream!” the spicy brunette smirks mischievously and if only he could, her Sire would blush visibly.

Dominic would like to have more info about this, but it does not seem an opportune time to make that kind of request.

“So you really won’t do anything to us, will you?” Matthew questions hopefully, happy to see his Sire nod encouragingly.

“Yep, you can trust us. Then, if you want to split the band because of other reasons, it’s up to you!"

“No, no, Muse remain where they are! “ the guitarist asserts proudly.  
“So is it normal that... we enjoy killing? At least, killing the not innocent people?” Dom wonders.

“I'd be surprised on the contrary!” Michael bursts out laughing. "My Rachie here is the exception that proves the rule...and I promised to behave for her!” he reveals while cuddling, making her smile. “But killing is among the most rewarding activities for a vampire. To be honest, I was a bit concerned because you were so quiet, Matt.” he admits, looking at his Childe.

“Let's say he was waiting for the right trigger! “ Dom chuckles, ruffling his beloved’s already messy hair.

”Phew, Mickey, you know that when the opportunity comes, I leave you free to follow your innermost instincts.” Rachel murmurs, exchanging endearments with her boyfriend.

"Yeah, even if we don’t meet criminals so often... and even more rarely actual hunters!” the Spanish mutters.

Dominic swallows his saliva.

“D- do you mean the vampire hunters? Do they exist for real?"

"That's right. Those fanatics, obsessed with reading Bram Stoker, and stuff like that, which roam the world convinced of the need to eradicate the supreme evil. " Michael hisses, his voice resounding.

"They’re only a bunch of close minded people who see whoever is different as something negative and therefore something that must be destroyed.” Rachel rolls her eyes.

"It's horrible! “Matt comments, disgusted, anticipating his partners reaction.

"Yeah. Luckily there aren’t see many of them around anymore. We’ve met the last one in 1940.” the oldest vampire announced.

1940\. It ' a date that Matt has already heard, and this time his curiosity gets the better of him.

(End I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, about the San Siro concert, I could give you all those details, because I was there!!! *smiles at the memory*
> 
> About the Kasabian using Matt’s platform (grrrr) , yep, twue story, and I bet the real Matt wasn’t too happy about it either XDD  
> Also the plan for Matt’s birthday, twue story again and yep, it was really Dom’s idea (awww ♥ ), with Tom helping ;)
> 
> about next update, well, there will be two versions of it, depending on what you like the most, if you get squeamish in certain scenes, choose the censored version; if you enjoy the dark side, go for the uncut version ;P .  
> Oh, right, Matt’s birthday with all the hot stuff and *cough* Bloodplay will be full in both versions ^^
> 
> That’s all, feel free to tell me whatever you like


	31. XXIV II : It won’t be long before I disturb you in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dom and Matt have certain needs...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for late , thanks for kudos
> 
> Warning: hot, kinky stuff, minor consensual violence, violence, homophobia, killing + fluff, yep, I swear all those things can coexist XD
> 
>  
> 
> Not beta-ed, all mistakes are mine :/

"1940. The date of the last vampire you have created... before me. So... was he a hunter?” Matthew figures out.

"That's right. He had kidnapped my Rachel and had every intention to kill her. I remained hidden in the shadows until the right time. I was faster, I snatched the stake out of his hand and I knocked him down.” Michael says.

"That's right, he saved me like a knight in shining armor saves his Princess.” Rachel caresses his face, kissing him fleetingly.”Although after that he became so impossibly apprehensive, he has not allowed me to hunt on my own for more than a decade!” She grumbles at the memory.

"I had my reasons. Coming back to that episode, I was more than determined to kill the  infamous hunter, but, driven by some kind of pity,  she asked me not only to spare him, but to open his mind about what we are and what he fought.”

"He asked you to make one of us.” Dominic anticipates him.

"Yes, I asked him to do that, but things didn’t go as I hoped. Maybe a little, at the beginning, yes. For at least a couple of years he stayed with us, he learned many things that he couldn’t comprehend before, but the more he understood the more the sense of guilt for what he had done afflicted him. He came to an unsustainable point, making us believe that everything was fine. One day, out of the blue, while Michael and I were sleeping, because outside it was dawn, he left to us a note where he explained all this to us, before going to greet the sun for the last time... and vanish in a cloud of dust.”  Rachel recalls, with few tears that trace her face. “It’s almost as if I had killed him.” She sobs.

Michael comforts his fiancé, hugging her.

"Do you know any girl with a biggest heart?” He turns to the other two, smiling admired at the brunette.

"Actually I was happy about it. I did not cherish the prospect of having to deal with that nosey-parker for all the eternity; I've never forgiven him for what he tried to do to my Queen. I would have enjoyed much more to snap his neck... if someone had not interfered!” He adds, glaring reproachfully at Rachel, who has already recovered.

"Well, I guess that’s all we had to talk about.” Matt said, visibly relieved, opening the door.

"Yesss, I knew you were here!” Someone jumps to Matt and Dom’s neck. It’s the girl who Matt and Dom have spotted before.

"Ah yes, I forgot. Matthew, Dominic, meet my sister Maggie!” Rachel introduces her, not very proud of her fanatic behaviour.

"You’ve never told me that your sister was one of our fans.” Matthew mutters, half-suffocated by Maggie’s embrace.

"Actually, I didn’t know she was!” The brunette justifies.

"But... how? You haven’t been talking to each other for ten years and you haven’t faced that topic?” Dominic wonders, while he tries to part from that affectionate admirer as gently as possible.

"Excuse us as if our world does not revolve around you!” the vampiress snaps.

"But my world does..." her sister admits, with a big grin, being able, with difficulty, to separate from Matt.” Rac, my dear, you should have told me immediately that my beloved brother-in-law is my favorite singer’s Sire and my favorite drummer’s GranSire!”

"But your favorite bass player has no connection with your ' family!” Chris commences.  Attracted by the voices and cheerful screams, he has heard much of that conversation.

"It doesn’t matter, I love you the same, too!” Maggie replies, hugging him.

"Hey, you’re full of enthusiasm!” Kelly exclaims with a jovial smile, before deciding that it’s appropriate to mark her territory.

"Hey, that's great, you’re here, too!” A joyful Matt welcomes her.

"Confess, you didn’t want to leave too much freedom to your stud, did you?" Dom chuckles, greeting her.

"My dear wife made  me such a super surprise!” Chris murmurs, happy as a child, giving her a tender kiss.

"Nope, more than anything else I came here to check it out by myself if you're crazy or not!” She snorts.” And what I have heard so far doesn’t comfort me.” She grumbles.

"By the way, Matt, Dom, I’m going to be your dinner for tonight, there’s no question about it!” Maggie excitedly offers, full of expectations.

"What... what does she mean?” Kelly asks her husband, nervous. The bassist is still seeking for the right words to tell her, while Tom joins the group as well.

"After all, Charlie doesn’t have any objection, I've already explained everything to him!” the girl goes on.

"Charlie?”  All the Englishmen exchange a confused look.

"That would be me...” the muscular guy mutters, raising his hand.

"Uh, it's true. I haven’t introduced him to you yet!” Maggie slaps her forehead, chuckling.”Well, folks, this is Charles, my eternal mate.”

 ”You know, since we set foot in this place, Maggie seems to have utterly forgotten me!” the vampire sulks.

His blond hair, his eyes made of ice, his features and especially his strong accent indicate that he is Norwegian.

After all, even Maggie looks very different from her sister: she is a bit taller, more slender and has curly blond hair of medium length. The only thing they have in common is the same sweet smile.

"You, big jealous guy!” Maggie pretends to rebuke him, giving him a kiss. “You know you're my whole life. Michael, I’ll never thank you enough for introducing us to each other.” She smiles in the direction of  the Spanish.

"Glad I could help!” He nods

"Good. So, Dom, Matt, let's go in your dressing room, okay? I bet that you must be hungry!” The blonde suggests, linking arms with both them.

"But... is not too much for you?” Matt is concerned.

"Are you joking? I’ve been a servant for more than a century now, I can stand so much more!” She assures her, with her  partner who just nods.

"Okay, but before… I think Kelly needs some proofs.” Dom comments, exchanging glances with Chris, who accompanies her in the dressing room, along with the other three.

Tom finds himself in the unfortunate condition of being alone with three vampires who he does not even know and he has to entertain them.

"But you... you have already eaten.. am I right?” He asks them hesitant.

The other three laugh, nodding, much to his relief.

"Sorry, I don’t think I know your names…” The manager makes his guests repeat them.

"Oh, Charles, you said?” He repeats, turning to the blonde vampire. “One of my dogs is called Sir Charles. The world is such a small place, huh?”  He chuckles nonchalantly, before realizing what he has just stated.”Uh! Not that I want to say that it is a dog's name!” He corrected immediately.

 The Norwegian scrutinizes him annoyed.

"Ah, so you do think it's not a nice name for a dog, don’t you?” He asks the human.

It’s that kind of trap where any answer you give to a question, it will be the wrong one.

"No? Yes? Help!” Tom mumbles, restless, provoking the laughter of others.

"These humans get scared for nothing. They are so much fun!” Charles comments cheerful, while the only human has the distinct feeling that time has stopped behind the door.

 Evidently, it must be pretty soundproof, because no one from outside can hear the scream Kelly gives out as soon as Matt and Dom reveal the truth.

"But... then.. it's all true. But..how..how..” the woman mutters in a daze, while Chris walks her out.

"That 's what I was trying to explain to you, my love...”

A few minutes later, when Maggie, at least partially quenches the two younger vampires’ thirst, even the three of them come out of the dressing room.

"So you're a servant.” Chris asserts, looking at her better while Rachel calms Kelly down. “But you don’t look decrepit!” The bassist adds.

"Thank you, it means that I am keeping myself well!” The blonde strikes back, amused.

"Hey, watch your mouth with my woman!”  Charles growls annoyed at the human.

"Chris, I've already explained to you how it works, why do you keep thinking that becoming a servant is like becoming a zombie?” Matthew reproaches him.

"I don’t know...” His friend grumbles, “But now that I see her..”

"What is a servant?” Kelly wonders, puzzled.

"I’ll take care of you!” Maggie offers, approaching.”Don’t you know, dear, that you could be younger than your own children one day? There’s a way to...” she begins, taking her apart.

"Well, well, apparently, if Maggie is convincing, and she has always been, we could have another servant wannabe, along with you, big teddy bear,” Rachel states, winking at Chris. “Matt and Dom already belong to our family... so you’re the only one left.” She continues, turning to Tom.”Don’t you want to switch to un-life too, pretty face?” she whispers, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Uh! No.. I don’t know.... maybe.. in the near feature. Even not so near.”  Tom mumbles, agitated.”Let me take another ten years before deciding whether I should accept or not your... kind offer!” He hesitates, stroking his neck nervously.

"The kind offer is from her but you would eventually deal with me!" Michael makes it clear, visibly jealous.

"Guys, we must leave you, because I know that, Matt, you have a very important evening to celebrate.” Rachel smiles, moving away with Michael, after a general greeting.

"I’d better go look for Maggie... see you!” Charles leaves as well.

"But...did she really call me ' pretty face '?” Tom mumbles, flattered, once he’s left alone with his friends,.

"Yep, she did, but don’t kid yourself. Rachel has such a mushy vocabulary.” Matt informs him. “For example, she often calls me ' sugar '!”

"And she calls me ‘puppy'!” Dom smiles.

"And she called you 'big teddy bear ', I do not like it at all!” Kelly grumbles. She seems to reappear out of nowhere.

"But.. you were on the other side of the room... how can it be?” Chris mumbles, confused.

\-  It's not that Kelly has super hearing, too… is it? -  he wonders in daze.

"Come on, what are we still doing here? Our Mattie has a party waiting for him!”  Dom encourages everyone, leaving.

"Chris, you’re going to be by my side all night long, right? Don’t you dare leave me alone with those two..” Kelly begs him, clinging to him, still very uncomfortable about the new situation.

\------------------------------------------------------

At the after -show in the designated place, among friendly faces and almost stranger ones, Matthew is the center of everyone’s attention. Everyone wishes happy birthday to him, tugging his lobe and singing birthday songs.

 Time goes on and Dom is aware of that, mostly because he has a completely different concept of celebrating.

 When it’s about three o'clock in the morning. he decides that the time has come.

"I would say our Bells has drunk quite a lot tonight, I’d better  take him to bed, before he gives an indecent show of  himself!” the blond commences, making Matt greet everyone and dragging him away.

"But it is not true that I drank too much!” Matt protests, as they get inside the first available taxi.

"Oh yes, it is!” Dom grins. ”It's time to make the real party start!”

 

Once they’re back at the hotel, the blond takes the brunet in their room, where he blindfolds and handcuffs him to the bed, moving away temporarily in order to prepare everything that he needs.

"How can it be? Am I not even going to receive my [gift](http://hyper-bliss.livejournal.com/72607.html#) before?”  Matt pretends to protest. Actually, he loves this.

"This is not the proper time to think about such material things!” the percussionist strikes back, coming back to him. He takes advantage of the fact that Matt wears a shirt to be able to undress him without releasing him.

“Uh-uh. Someone is in a hurry...” Matt chuckles, feeling a source of heat getting closer and closer and before he can understand what it is, great drops of hot wax fall on his bared shoulder and chest.

 Matt is not expecting it and gives out a cry of pain mixed to pure pleasure.

 Dom smiles satisfied, placing the candle on the bedside table, where he takes something else.

"This is just the beginning, love!” he whispers, making his lover wince when he makes an ice cube slide on the burned parts of his body.

"Mm... it feels so good.” his boyfriend smiles to him.

They kiss, and when Matt least expects it, Dom pulls out a knife and writes his initial on Matt’s chest, licking all the blood that trickles down his abdomen.

 Needless to say, the handsome frontman is in rapture.

"How did you know I would have liked it, baby?” He moans satisfied.

"Never try, never know!” the beautiful drummer giggles, while he begins to undress himself, before something draws his attention, suggesting a bizarre idea.

"Matteh, you like my belt, right?" he comments, taking off his mate’s pants and boxers.

 The questioned vampire has already figured out what's going to happen and nods eagerly.

"It's not only a wonderful fashion accessory; it can also be a deadly weapon. Do you want to try?” The blond offers, grabbing his inseparable leopard printed belt and freeing the end with the buckle, which he uses to begin to whip Matthew.

The brunet does not hold back for sure, as a matter of fact, after the first hesitant lashes, he asks Dom to hit him harder and harder.

 When he's had enough, Dom throws the belt n the floor and rips Matt’s blindfold out.

"Well, honey, are you're having fun?”  the drummer smiles at him, before giving him a kiss on his lips, a tender gesture that is odd compared to the violence that has been displayed so far.

"Yep, so much fun. But is there any chance that I will be able to taste your sweet blood tonight, hmm?” Matthew spurs him, leaning in for a kiss that is being denied.

"Not even a single chance!” Dominic pulls back.”You're the guest of honor and it’s your right to be on the receiving end."

 ”Exactly, can I be the one receiving the pleasure of sucking the sweet ambrosia of your neck?” the pianist retries, with a languid look.

”Nope, but you can be the one receiving all the pleasure of a nice bite!” And saying it, the blond bites him on his shoulder.

 ”I love to be the one receiving!” Matt purrs in delight, before Dom parts from him.

It only takes one mutual glance to understand that the time for games is over. 

Dom frees his prisoner and Matt ‘attacks’ him, with a playful growl, before kissing him like there’s no tomorrow.

In the meantime, the pianist’s hands wander everywhere, touching all the exposed skin, scratching it until he draws blood, but Dom doesn’t allow him to taste it.

As a matter of fact, Dom parts from Matt, gathering the tiny lines of blood from his chest with three fingers and bringing them to his own mouth, enjoying every second of it.

“You’re so evil!” Mathew almost whines, although that sight didn’t leave him indifferent.

“Mm.. Matteh, I still had your taste in my mouth and your blood mixed with mine is something so ecstatic!” Dominic purrs, acting lasciviously.

It’s too much. Matt can’t hold back a second longer and pins the blond on the mattress, penetrating him with one quick and powerful thrust, without any preparation.

Dominic cries out loud, but the brunet knows very well that it’s only for pleasure, because he also likes it rough.

They make love in the most wild and impetuous way, making it last as long as they can.

At the end, Matthew smiles satisfied at his beloved, and then looks at him warily while Dom’s lighting a cigarette.

"Well, what? It's not that my undead lungs will have something to complain about, is it? And surely  yours won’t!” the blond shrugs, blowing the smoke against his face.

“Are you going to do what I hope you're going to do?” Matthew eagerly asks him.

"Do you mean put out the cigarette on your chest? Hell, yes!” the blond devilishly grins, doing as anticipated, making his Sire moan with pleasure.

“I never get tired of finding new ways to mark you.” Dom mutters, staring pleased at his work of art, made of bruises, scars, bite marks, cuts and burns.

“Please, never grow tired of that!" Matt murmurs, stroking his hair lovingly, while he begins to feel the fatigue of the whole day.

"You know, 7th December is approaching and my revenge will be merciless!” he warns the blond, turning off the light.

“Can’t wait for it!” Dominic giggles, giving him a passionate kiss.” Happy birthday, my eternal thirty-one years old guy!”  he whispers in the brunet’s ear.

 -------------------------------------------------------

"C’mon, now it's time for the material things!” Matt exclaims, jumping astride Dom and waking him with a start in the late morning.

"Bells! Where are your bloody manners?” Dom growls against him, annoyed.

"Where's my present?” the brunet asks him indifferently, as bouncy as a child.

"According to the abrupt way you woke me up, you don’t deserve anything!" the blond snorts, pushing him away.

"But?” the brunet insists, not at all submissive.

 Dom smiles, allowing him to win, and draws out a soft packet from the drawer of his bedside table.

"Happy birthday, honey!” He hands him his [gift](http://hyper-bliss.livejournal.com/72607.html#).

 Matthew opens unceremoniously, admiring ecstatic the content.

"Dommeh! It’s... beautiful! And so pwoper! I’m going to wear it at the next concert!” he perjures, watching with a grin that black T-shirt with a written made of [silver](http://hyper-bliss.livejournal.com/72607.html#) glitters, in capital letters: 'BITE ME!'

"I'm glad you like it and I can’t wait to see you wear it!” Dom approves and then rummages around in the drawer. “There is still a little thing, this is just a stupid, maybe you don’t even remember..” he mutters, handing him a round, small package.

Intrigued, Matthew shreds also that wrapping paper, discovering a red plastic box, which he doesn’t hesitate to open.

" OH MY! THE BRACELET WITH THE THE GLITTERY ALIENS THAT CHANGE COLOUR!”  he cries at the apex of excitement, wearing it immediately.

"Uh, well, I see that you remember it. After all, you wanted to swap your pendant for that. Our pendant!” the blond chuckles at the memory.

"But.. how did you manage to do that?” Matt asks him, ecstatic.

"An infinite number of toy stores and an even larger number of awkward situations!” Dom shrugs.

"Come here!” Matt jumps on him, kissing him to show the drummer his gratitude.

Stroking his body, Dom feels under his fingertips the scar of Matt’s cut, still visible on his chest.

"There is still my D.” Dominic smiles satisfied.

"I have already explained that to you, haven’t I? The wounds that are inflicted by humans heal in a heartbeat, but the wounds that a vampire leaves on another vampire can’t heal so quickly, unless the one who left the wounds decides to heal them.” Matt summarizes.

"Do you want me to heal it?” He asks his companion, not very keen on the idea.

"And why should I want it? I'm not going to play with an open shirt or shirtless!” Matt winks at the percussionist.

"Oh, Matteh!” the blond squeals, holding him tight, until he feels the presence of some plastic against his body.

"Bells, promise me that you’ll never wear that thing in public!”

\---------------------------------------------------

As daily ritual, at breakfast the two vampires find Tom Morgan, Chris and this time also Kelly waiting for them in the dining room.

 Fulfilling the request of her lover, Matthew no longer wears that tacky object on his wrist.

"So, Bells, how did the birthday celebration go?”  Tom questions him, slyly.

 The singer takes his time before answering.

 

\- What am I supposed to say? Burned, scratched, cut, bitten, beaten? -

 

 --------------------------------------------------

 The second evening at the Stade de France in Paris has gone beyond all expectations, but while the artists enjoy their much deserved rest, one of them thinks differently.

"Matt...” Dom whispers

"Mmpph?”

"Are you awake?”

" Now I am.” The brunet grumbles, opening his eyes, but remaining in complete darkness.

"I’m lusting for...” the blond murmurs.

"Oh, love, you never get enough!” Matt chuckles mischievously, already forgetting his initial moody attitude.

"No... not that!” Dom replies, smiling the same way.”I lust for a good kill, again!”

"It's not the kind of after sex talking that I'm used to!” Matt jokes about, before Dom crawls over him, looking deep in his eyes that the blond can see very well.

"Tell me you don’t want it too." he instigates the frontman.

"Yes, baby, but... it’s almost four in the morning and...”

"Exactly. The perfect time for the bad guys!” the blonde insists. “And then tomorrow we have a whole day of rest here... therefore, what are we waiting for? Let's go for a walk in the neighborhood, I guess we'll be spoiled for choice.”

Matthew has very little to object.

 However, after almost an hour and a half of roaming, they go back to the hotel with empty hands and dry fangs.

 And it’s the same even during the other nights, in other stages of the tour, Madrid and Holland.

"Damn, it’s not as easy as it looks!” Dominic gets a little upset.

 -------------------------------------------------- -----------------

 At the end of June, they’re staying in Pilton, in their beloved England, satisfied by the success of the Glastonbury Festival the night before.

 Matthew and Dominic are quietly walking through the suburbs of the town, late at night, without any expectations. They’re just enjoying the quiet.

 That’s why they’re totally astonished when, from an alley, two thieves bust in. Judging from the precious fabrics which Matt and Dom are wearing, the two aggressors guess they’re dealing with easy targets.

The two evildoers encircle them, pulling out two knives.

"Give us your money, elegant dudes!” one of the two exclaims with a croaking voice.

His partner notices that their two victims are holding hands and continue to do so.

"Hey, look at these dandies!” the second aggressor laughs, his voice equally unpleasant, turning to his friend.” The richer they are, the more they’re faggots!”

"That's disgusting! Scum like you shouldn’t even be allowed to exist!” the first hisses acidly, approaching the two strangers further.

 Matt and Dom keep quiet and self-assured, smiling at each other.

"Could this be our lucky night, hun?” Dom whispers, before their attackers get closer, pointing their knives at the musicians’ throat.

"Oh yes, please, cut me now, I’d love to see blood!” Matthew spurs him.

“Wh-what?” His interlocutor jerks and nearly loses his grip on the knife.

"Oh, come on, what’s the problem? Don’t you remember how to do it?” Matt continues and before the malefactor can even notice it, the knife is firmly grasped by the singer, who pulls the stranger’s arm to expose it.

"You do it this way!” he sneers, tracing the arm with the blade, which, although small, can do its job, creating a cut of medium depth that makes the blood gush profusely.

The victim’s scream is covered only by his partner’s scream and, turning, Matthew sees him slumped on the ground, with his shirt soaked in blood.   
Matthew sees his blond lover while he’s pulling the knife from the abdomen in which he has sunk it.

Matt looks at Dom with fake reproach.

"Well, what? I’m the kind of guy who prefers less impressive sentences and more bloody action!” Dom is justifies, licking the blade.

Matthew smiles at him, then return to his victim, and hands him the knife.

"It 's only fair that you do your move, too, come on!” The pianist spurs him again, lifting  his own T-shirt up.

Furious, the man does not hesitate and cuts Matt rather deeply, between his sternum and stomach.

Matt grimaces in a mix of pain and pleasure and then he and Dom watch his cut as it heals after a few moments, in front the shocked eyes of the two attackers.

"Bu.. but.. but...”

"It’s fascinating, isn’t it?” Matt comments with a smirk, staring at them.

"It 's a show that I’ll never get tired of.” Dom beams.

"Fuck! What the hell are you two?” Dom 's former attacker laboriously wonders, still lying on the ground, weakened by his injury.

The blond vampire grins, emitting a dazzling green flash from his eyes

"Let's say that we are your worst nightmare!”

Matt gets back to his prey and squeeze his injured arm, so he can draw more blood, making him scream.

The brunet vampire traces that cut with a long lick, still without changing his features.

"It doesn’t meet my standards but I will settle for tonight!” he shrugs.

"You, shitty depraved, what the fuck are you doing?” His former attacker Blurts dismay her attacker.

"Didn’t you figure it out yet? I’m tasting my dish!” Matthew laughs and then throws the man on the ground.

Dominic laughs, then bends down and sniff his victim's neck.

"You know, more often I am used to candid and fragrant slender necks, but this time I will make an exception!” he tells him, pressing his hand against the man’s wounded chest, which is an unbearably painful thing for the human, but what makes him scream with pure horror is when he sees the blond guy greedy licking his bloody hand.

"Dammit! You.. you are two toxic, drugged-up, filthy junkies!” The other human insults them, in dismay.

"Oh no, I beg your pardon Gentlemen, Matt and I have been over the mushroom phase for a long time. Now the only drug that we enjoy is blood!” The drummer chuckles.

"My boyfriend is right. You know, for vampires it works this way!” Matt feels compelled to add, showing them his fangs. Dom follows his Sire’s example as well.

"Va -va- vampires?” the aggressor with the injured arm stammers incoherently, trying to get up from the ground to no avail.

"Lousy monsters!” the one with the wounded abdomen snaps.

Matthew slaps him.

"Who are the real monsters? We or people like you who discriminate with contempt your equals, just because they have sexual preferences different from yours?”

"That fucking scum will never be our equal!” the man one with the injured arm strikes back poisonously, before Dom kicks his stomach viciously.

"Your fucking, hateful pettiness prevents people like us to manifest their nature, to be happy with their own identity, to feel accepted and appreciated.”

Matthew approaches his mate.

"How can you judge this disgusting?” he murmurs, before kissing Dom with considerable passion.

The two aggressors express their disgust jeering, cursing and screaming epithets that are not nice at all.

The two vampires stop, parting from each other.

"Geez, you’re so exaggerated. We could ask you two to kiss, who knows, maybe you would have appreciated that more!” Dominic asserts.

Matthew grins, enlightened.

"This is such an awesome idea, love.”

"You're right.” the blond approves and then they turns to the two criminals, “Tell me, what's the point in criticizing something if you don’t even know how it feels like? I guess that you should try, before.”

The two criminals realise what that means.

"Are you crazy?” One of them hisses.

"We’d rather die!” the others asserts with conviction.

Matthew exchanges an understanding look with Dominic, who is grinning devilishly.

"Your wish is our command!” 

Immediately after, each vampire sinks his fangs in the respective prey’s neck .

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

 After they have fed copiously, Matt eyes a gas station not far from there.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” He asks his beloved accomplice.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------

"I think we’d better  not let Tom and Chris know about... this recent habit of ours.” Dom suggests, while, satisfied with their work, the two vampires are returning to the hotel.

"Right, they would never understand.” The brunet approves, before being enlighten by an idea.

"Dommeh, do you realise the power that we have now? We can become some sort of super heroes voted to the forces of Good... we could hinder the government and who is behind it!” The guitarist starts to daydream.

 Dom has no choice but agree with his best friend.

 ”Of course, Matt, of course!”

Deep inside, Dominic knows he would never change anything of his beloved Matthew.

 TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just hope you enjoyed this part, but even if you didn’t feel free to tell me everything.  
> Just leave me a sign (even a tiny one ) of your presence, pleeeease, you have no idea how important it is to me...


	32. XXV (I): Time has come to make things right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jealousy is in bloom..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: if you like Kate Hudson, you’re not going to like this chapter (esp. the second part)... Well, of course, no one is going to kill her here, okay? I mean, yep, I don’t like her at all, but there are limits!! XD
> 
> Not beta-ed, all mistakes are mine:/
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from the lyrics of ‘Knights of Cydonia’ by Muse.

  
The next day they are all in the taxi to the airport for the flight that will take them to Norway, the next stop of the tour.  
Chris is engrossed exchanging text messages with Kelly, Tom making moving shots of the city from the window. Morgan took the opportunity to take a nap, so Matthew and Dominic are the only ones who are not busy.

The drummer listens to the taxi driver’s radio while relaxing, but guitarist prefers listening to the music in his head.  
This until the radio plays something worthy of his hyper- selective attention.

“Hey, I guess you know this one!” The cheerful driver comments, turning up the volume, since 'Uprising ' has just begun.

Clearly, the man knows very well who he has inside his car.

“Oh, well, it’s not that I know them very much, but these guys are quite good. It seems to me that they won one or two awards in their career!” Matthew jokes, pretending to be vague.

“Oh yes, the singer is passable, but the drummer is really outstanding!” Dominic plays the same game, before receiving a nip at his side.

"You’re always so insolent!” His boyfriend whispers, with fake disappointment.

“That’s the way you like me!” The blond sticks his tongue out at him.

“True... “Matt languidly murmurs, turning the pinch into a bold stroke, hidden from everyone’s eyes.

"This bass player really knows his stuff.” Chris states, momentarily turning away from his mobile. “Oh, but wait a minute... it’s me!” He chuckles smugly.

In short, between all three is a real contest of ‘modesty’.

"If only it wasn’t a song on the radio, but a live performance video, I could appreciate the filming of said documentary, so wise and capable!” Tom mutters, still intent on shooting his movie. “Well, at least it is just the soundtrack that I needed!” He smiles.

Morgan continues to sleep as if nothing had happened.

The song fades away, leaving its place to the news on the radio, right on schedule.

"I can change the station,” the driver offers.

“No, please, don’t, a bit of information certainly won’t hurt us.” Matt makes him desist, after all, as well as Dom, he has his own specific interests.

{ _A warm and friendly hello to our listeners. Let’s open immediately with a fact of crime : in a gas station near Pilton, two charred bodies had been found. The one who gave  the alarm was the owner of the gas station, arrived at the place of work shortly after dawn. It goes without saying that the man is still in a worrying state of shock. The scientific police are still analyzing the dental casts and the few  remnants that could still be found, trying to trace their identity. For the locals, who were interviewed, there may be two drunkards, homelessness, who certainly didn’t have a clean criminal record. Quarrelsome character, they could have turn yet another argument into this awful tragedy, only ending up burning  each other. Only the result of the analysis we will be able to confirm or deny the veracity of these assumptions. There is, however, to add that last night the two criminals in question haven’t been spotted around the town anymore. Our colleagues in television have categorically refused to display the images, because of their gruesome content. We will keep you updated on the developments of this matter._  
Now let’s talk about domestic politics... }

“Oh dear! There are so bad people around!” Dominic says, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, We should be afraid even to leave our hotel room!” Matthew plays his same game, pretending to be shocked in the same way.

“This town is not as safe as I recalled.” The driver mutters.

Morgan has continued to sleep as if nothing happened, not even Chris has become detached from his iPhone, but probably the bassist hasn’t even heard that shocking news.

The only one who was alert and attentive is Tom and he doesn’t know if it was just a play of light or he actually seemed to see the two vampires exchange an understanding look with more complicity than usual and a satisfied attitude.  
Also, Tom has the slight feeling that they reacted with a little ' too surprise hearing that gruesome news.

\- _Is it possible that...?_ \- He wonders, peering at them deeply, while stroking his chin thoughtfully.                 
\- _Naaah!-_ He kicks that disquieting thought away  the moment after, waving his hand as if it were a pesky fly, and he resumes shooting his movies.

\-----------------------------------------------

Once settled on the plane, Tom and Chris indulge in a rejuvenating and pleasant nap, while Morgan is working on a piece for one of the bands who he plays for.  
Matthew is utterly absorbed in an interesting book about the latest conspiracy theories around that he has bought at the duty free, while Dominic delights himself in the more superficial reading of the magazines that the airline has made available to their passengers. Suddenly, the blond gasps as soon as his eyes fall on a paragraph. It was the title to draw instantly his attention.  
He reads the entire article with greedy eyes, then he glares quite angrily at Matt, who is  still reading his book.  
Dominic shuts the magazine loudly and almost violently and tries to dispose of his furious anger with sleep.

\-------------------------------------------------

“Hey, baby, we're almost there!” Matthew wakes Dom up gently, tapping his shoulders, while the plane is about to land.

Dominic opens his eyes, smiling at first, as he stretches, before he recalls the current situation and the bitter discovery.  
As soon as he does, he stops smiling.

"Don’t call me ' baby'! No, wait, don’t call me in any way! Don’t even speak a word to me!“ The blond snaps, moving away from his best friend with extreme coldness.

Trying to figure out if somehow he has or hasn’t done something that make the handsome drummer so angry, Matthew follows him, along with the other three.

Dominic keeps joking and chatting plesantly with Chris, Tom and Morgan, as if nothing had happened, but retains his icy detachment towards Matt, degrading any attempt from the singer to approach him.  
Matthew, resorting to a patience that he is even surprised to have, manages to tolerate Dom’s incomprehensible and hateful attitude all the way back to the hotel, but as soon as he places the suitcases on the bed in their room, the brunet’s limit of endurance becomes unsustainable.

“Dominic! Can you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you?” He confronts his mate, sharply.

“Why? We have nothing more to tell each other!” The blond barks back, angrily, turning away.

“No, Mr., it won’t end like this! We will not move from this fucking room until you fucking tell me what the fuck 's wrong with you, I don’t give a damn if we have to stay locked here for three fucking days and we delete the fucking concert!” Matt growls, grasping his shoulders with force.  
Dominic gets free, wriggling.

"You're right, Matthew. Do you want to fucking talk? Well, let's talk!” The drummer reacts, opening the outer pocket of his suitcase and pulling out the Gossip magazine that he stole from the plane, leafing quickly through the page, until it comes to the incriminating paragraph.

"What the fuck were you waiting for to tell me about that, huh?” The drummer yells, throwing the magazine on the bed, with the exposed article, where there are two pictures side by side : the first is of the American actress Kate Hudson at a Gala evening, the second is just of Matthew, taken from one of Muse’s live performances.  
At the top, stands out in bold the title of the article, which reads: ' Soon I will be his new muse. '

"So now you’re having affairs with starlets, aren’t you?” Dominic accuses him furiously, while almost ignoring him, Matthew grabs the newsmagazine to read it.

“ ‘The beautiful Hollywood diva has let slip at our microphones a confession about her love life, revealing that she has been going out with the frontman of  Muse, the English rock band, ' “ reads aloud Matt. “ ‘The last time we met in Milan, at his birthday party. ' Says the actress. ' We had already met before, but the great feeling that exists between the two of us gives me the idea that it can deliver to something important, so who knows... Stay tuned, I think you'll hear again about me and Matt! ' The actress seems to have a soft spot for musicians, her ex-husband was a musician as well, with whom she had a son. Maybe this time Kate has really found her soul mate. ‘”  Matthew finishes reading, and then he tears off the page and make it to shreds.

"Tell me that 's not true. Seriously, do you believe this shit?”  The pianist growls, in a tone of reproach.

"You have to tell me to what I can believe!” The percussionist growls in response.

“Do you remember my black period, after breaking up with Gaia?” The brunet questions him, with a calmer tone, and this is enough to make even his mate calm down.

“How could I forget it? You have never made me as worried as I was in that period.” The blond replies.

"Then you also remember that at that time I use to go to bed with anyone, without distinction, any girl I could find, then most likely she must have to be a part of that ' anyone '... and the mere fact that I can’t even manage to recall her should give you an idea about how that experience might have meant something to me!” Matthew confesses, making a smile return on his beloved’s features.

“And about the feeling that there is between me and her, I don’t think at my party we have gone beyond she saying a cheerful 'Happy Birthday!' to me and me replying a simple and unaffected ‘Thank you!’, just like I did with tons of other people... I just challenge you to define it a great chemistry!” The singer mutters puzzled, making both of them laugh.

“I just don’t get how she could have such a mistaken impression... “Matt continues to grumble.

“I know it, honey. That bloody harpy is just using you to get notoriety, I just can’t stand her!” Dom growls frustrated.

 

“Neither can I, but don’t worry, as soon as we’re around her place, I will have a very nice little chat with her.”  The frontman assures him.

“Why can’t you let me go to her?” The blond sulks.

 ”Because if I go there it’s a warning, if you go there... it's a murder!” The pianist figures out.

“Oh, you do know me, my love!” The most inexperienced vampire chuckles, running his tongue over his teeth. “When?” He questions soon after.

"When what?” His Sire frowns.

“When do you plan to go to her?”

“Certainly not now. If you have not noticed, we are in Norway and in two days we have a concert. And then the subsequent stages of the tour will take us around half of the world. We will have to wait at least until the end of September!” Matt reminds to him, meticulous.

"It's true, but then for the next two months that self-serving witch will be free to continue to spread those fake rumors!” The blond huffs.

"Yeah, but you'll see that no one will listen to her and she will grow tired soon.” The brunet reassures him, but Dom doesn’t seem to believe it.

“We'll see, but you must promise me one thing.” the drummer urges his lover.

“Sure, whatever."

“She can’t get away only with a plain warning.” Dominic makes the other notice.

“If I understand you, and I did, be sure of that, I was already planning a bite.” Matthew winks at him.

"Yes, but it’s not enough. You have to make her suffer. Do you remember, at New Year's Eve, that nosy reporter? You have got to give her a very, very painful bite. “Dom is recommended, with an disquieting light that shines in his jade eyes.

Matthew bursts out laughing, stroking his hair.

"It will be done, baby. No doubt about it. I love this side of you, so treacherous and ruthless that seems to emerge so often.” The more experienced vampire murmurs, pleased.

“Oh yeah? And what else do you love about me? “ His partner asks him vaguely, wrapping his arms around his neck.

Matthew smiles sweetly and gets closer and closer to his mouth, but before the blond can savour that imminent kiss, Matt pushes him rudely away from himself, causing Dom to fall to the ground.

“I'll tell you what I _don’t_ love : This total lack of trust you have in me!” The brunet growls, deeply offended, looking down with disdain.

"But... Mattie!” Dom protests, getting up quickly.

"Don’t use your ' Mattie ' with me! And spare your pout to me, not even that is going to work!” The singer barks back, impassive. “Why don’t you understand that you were, are and will always be the only one for me?” He mutters, changing the expression from angry to disappointed.

"Because I care.” The blond gurgles, keeping his eyes down.

“You do what?”

"You heard me very well!” Dom confronts him "Think a little about this: I have the constant fear of losing you, that you get tired of me, that you need something new... it’s because I want you madly, you're my most precious treasure, I would die if I lose you.” The percussionist confesses with a humble tone. "Instead, you always take me for granted, you never fear that I may leave you... it means that you don’t care about me enough!” He adds immediately after, increasing his voice.

To his surprise, Matthew pulls out a sly smile.

“Let me get this straight, you're really trying to make me feel guilty because I have total trust in you and I know that you love me as much as I love you, that’s it?” The guitarist summarizes.

“Yes, but... wait a minute; it sounds less accusatory than the way I have previously said that!” The mumbles confused.

Matthew approaches him with an arrogant attitude.

“Dommie, I'm the one who messes up with people’s minds. You cannot give me my own medicine!” He warns him, then he stares at the bed. “I think you have something to think about, and you know what? Good for me that I haven’t unpacked my suitcase yet, so I can transfer to my room. You'll stay here!” the younger commands.

"No!” Dom whines

“Hell yes, at least for this stage. Let this be a lesson to you!” Matthew proclaims, walking towards the door along with his trolley.

“And I also suppose that we will hunt separately, am I right?” the drummer grumbles, resigned.

“Oh, my dear, you’re so perceptive!” Matt smirks impertinently, before leaving.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------   
Matthew proves himself very determined to keep his distance from Dominic, not only for that day, but also for the following ones.  
Even at the Hove Festival in Arendel, where Muse are headliners, no matter how many times Dom tries to look at him, Matthew doesn’t look back. He doesn’t even walk close to the poor drummer.  
Although the performances lack of the usual interaction between those two, the concert is successful anyway.  
However, after they both fed themselves, in separate moments and zones, and they have enjoyed with the others a quick after show, it’s time to go back to the hotel.  
Dom decides that he can’t and he doesn’t want to spend another long and boring night all alone in that cold bed.  
It doesn’t take him long to dress up and leave his room, it takes him even less to cross the corridor and head towards a certain room.  
As the five friends always do, Dominic has a copy of his card-key.

Silently Dom lets the card slide inside the proper card reader and even more silently he opens and closes the door behind his back, walking towards the bed.  
Matthew is sleeping, he can clearly see him, although the room is overwhelmed by the dark.  
Dominic carefully avoids every obstacle, pulls the sheets very delicately and slides beneath them.  
He doesn’t want anything sexual, he doesn’t even expect to have any sort of physical contact with Matthew. All Dom wants is to stay next to him, but someone is determined not to give him such a satisfaction.

“Dominic, just stick to the deal. Go away!” Matthew exclaims, without even opening his eyes, making Dom startle.   
“But... how? I’ve been very silent!” The blond tries to understand what happened.

“Not enough silent for a Sire who can always feels his Childe’s presence!” Matt points out, opening his eyes to stare at him.   
“This is not fair!” The drummer snorts.

“C’mon, Dom, now behave and go back to your bed. Tomorrow we have such an intense day, we need a pwoper rest. ‘Night!” Matt says, closing his eyes and turning his back to Dom.

Defeated, Dom rolls his eyes and leaves the room, muttering something.   
There’s no need to say that Matthew noticed every second of that and he smiles to himself, utterly pleased.

(End I)


	33. XXV II: Time has come to make things right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justice must always win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really apologize, not only for the epic late, but also because I’m so stupid, I have this part written for ages and I forgot to post it, lol
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from the lyrics of ‘Knights of Cydonia’ by Muse.

  
“Truce?” Dominic hesitantly asks Matthew, the day after, when they all meet with their suitcases in the Hall, ready to leave.  
“No.” Matt imperturbably replies.  
  
 The blond looks at him wounded, with sad puppy eyes.  
  
“I mean, you ask for a truce when you’re in war, you and I are not in war.” The brunet explains, showing a tender smile, even tenderer because he displays his crooked tooth.  
“Is everything okay between us, then?” The percussionist asks for confirmation, his eyes full of hope.  
  
Matthew doesn’t even answer, he just walk closer to his mate, kissing him sweetly.  
  
“Hey, little doves, you tend to forget way too often when you’re in a public place!” Tom pretends to reproach them and they part from each other.  
“Well, try to understand, we had a fight for three days, now we were making things right…” Dominic justifies.  
“But you’re so imprudent! You can’t always do as you please, someone could see you!”  
“There’s only us here.” Matt points out.  
“That’s the point. _I_ could see you!” Chris complains, terrified at the eventuality.  
  
“Oh, c’mon, Christopher, don’t make a fuss! They didn’t kill anyone!” Morgan comments.  
“Yeah…” Tom grumbles to himself.  
  
\--------------------------------------------  
  
It takes only a couple of hours, before Muse are boarded on the umpteenth flight, this time headed towards Belgium.  
It’s not their usual private flight, but it’s in first class and they’re the only passengers, so it’s like a private flight.  
Morgan is sleeping, Tom is listening to music and Chris is watching a Football match in streaming, which means that Dominic and Matthew can enjoy some privacy.  
Instead of taking advantage of it, the drummer has other plans.  
  
“Can’t wait until you’ll hush those bloody rumors up, you know!” he comments.  
“Yeah, I think so.” Matt replies slyly, while Dom is busy with his own iPhone.  
“Let’s check our tour dates: now we’re going to Belgium, then we’ll be at Denmark and Czech Republic, but before Scotland we have three days of break, so...”  
“So would you really want to leave for Los Angeles and go back to Scotland in three days, without even be completely sure that she’s there?” Matt anticipates him.  
  
“Oh no, I checked. She is there for sure. She’s busy with stuff that will keep her stuck there for three months!” the blond informs him.  
“How did you manage to do that?” the frontman looks at him in awe.  
“Well, it’s been pretty simple. I’ve created a fake account, I’ve pretended to be a fan of hers and ask some info about on her official forum!” Dom brags.  
“You... you’re beginning to scare me!” Matthew stares at him, puzzled. “However, nope, we can’t do that in only three days, it’s pure craziness.  If we did, we would be so fucked up that at the show I would sit at the drums and you would sing, playing the guitar… but this time it wouldn’t be to make fun of an Italian anchor-woman!” Matt tries to reason with him and he seems to success.  
  
“Yeah, we wouldn’t make a good impression and Tom would be extra pissed off!” Dom grumbles, as he still deals with his mobile. “Hey, in August we have fourteen free days after Korea and…”  
“Nope, Dom, this is a holyday and holydays are meant to relax. And we will just relax. Got it?” Matt strikes back, impassible.  
The younger vampire snorts, putting his iPhone back in his pocket.  
  
“C’mon, baby, you just have to hold on a little longer, months run away fast…” the brunet murmurs in the blond’s ear but Dom is not fully convinced yet. “You’ll see, we’ll find a way to kill the time.” he goes on, nibbling his lobe.  
Dom raises his gaze, looking at Matt suggestively.  
“Only the time?”  
Matt greens victoriously.  
“That’s the way I like you!” he moans, before kissing him famished.  
  
\------------------------------------------------------  
  
For the two vampires is easier to say than to actually done that.  
In the following tour dates, maybe because they have too few time or because they don’t know those places very well, Matt and Dom have to be content with quick post-gig snacks or some random meetings across the streets, but they can’t find a criminal anywhere.  
At the beginning of September they are in Manchester, a town that they know very well. The day after the show at Lancashire County Cricket Ground they all decide they could have a free day and Matt and Dom have extended it until late night.  
  
It’s 4:00 o’ clock in the morning, while they are having a walk through a suburb of that town. They are on their way to go back to the hotel, when with their supernatural hearing they receive a help request. It’s from a girlish voice, not very far from there. It takes them less than a minute to arrive to the scene of crime, but they keep lurking in the shadows.  
Meanwhile, a man around forty years old, obviously drunk to the bone, is pushing a girl against a wall, in an isolated alley.  
  
“Stupid bitch, yell as much as you please, no one can hear you here!” he makes fun of her, slapping her face, which makes the poor girl cry even louder, especially when she feels his rough and callous hand finding its way between her legs.  
“Nooo! Let me go!” she begs, desperately.  
“And now, little doll, you and I are going to have some fun!” the ill intentioned man slurs, pushing her on the ground, ready to straddle her.  
  
Matthew decides to pop out.  
  
“Oh, we like having fun as well. Do you mind if we join to the party?” he gently wonders, while also Dominic show up.  
A second after, the drummer pulls the drunk man away from the girl, punching him so hard that he sends him several meters far away. “Oops, I almost forgot: we have a different concept of ‘having fun’!” the gorgeous blond pretends to apologise.  
  
The man gets very angry, getting up, laboriously, insulting them and getting ready to start a riot.  
  
Matthew couldn’t ask for anything more than facing him.  
In the meantime, Dom takes good  care of the girl. She lies in a corner, crouched up, with her head hidden between her knees and her body jolts with every of her own sobs.  
  
“Hey, darling, it’s over. It’s all okay, now.” He whispers, caressing her long, red hair.  
The girl barely nods and raises her gaze, shyly.  
  
As soon as she recovers and realises who is standing in front of her and who is dealing with her aggressor, she almost screams because of the shock.  
  
“Oh, my god! But you are…”  
Dom promptly reacts, tapping her mouth and hypnotizing her.  
“Oh no, sweetie, you’re wrong, we are nobody.” He chants her with his words, letting her loose in his dark, green, twirling spirals. “Now, run!” he awakes her from her trance and she leaves as fast as she can.  
  
Dominic smiles softened, before deciding not to let Matthew have all the fun.  
  
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
  
The morning after Matt, Tom, Dom and Chris sit at the same table, while Morgan is having trouble with his baggage, in his room.  
In the living room there’s the television switched on, which is just respecting the show schedule. The TV series ends and the newscast starts.  
The journalist welcomes all the TV audience and then she reviews all the most important news of the day.  
  
Tom’s attention is extremely drawn by the crime news, which talks about a rapist who has been found dead, thrown in a moat with his neck broken.  
As a matter of fact, in order not to make anyone suspicious, Matt and Dom have just fed a little of their victim, but they didn’t drain him completely.  
Both of the vampires are watching the broadcast very carefully, but they’re paying even more attention to their friend’s nervousness.  
  
“Well, guys, isn’t it weird? The last killings I heard about were in Germany, in Pilton and now here…” the media manager comments.  
“So what?” Matt keeps cool, while he eats his toast.  
“Isn’t it weird that media talks about horrible crimes that happened just in some of our last tour dates?” the photographer insists, before dealing with his omelette.  
“Nope, Tom, that’s not weird.  People die everywhere, every day, pay more attention to broadcast news!” Dom strikes back with great aplomb and steady nerves, while he pours some sliced ham in his plate.  
  
“Tom, c’mon, why all these questions? Matt and Dom clearly said to us that they don’t do such awful stuff!” Chris defends his best friends, once he’s done with his dish.  
  
Someone says that vampires can’t feel remorse, but it’s only an unfounded and banal fallacy, because both of them feel extremely guilty in their heart and mind, but they also know that they can’t reveal the truth the truth to their dearest friends, not yet at least, not so brutally.  
  
While the four friends were busy discussing, the broadcast went on and now it’s talking about the crime of the previous night, with an interview to the girl who managed to escape and denounce what has happened. She’s just talking about the two strangers who have rescued her.  
  
“Surprise, surprise. Two strangers. Two. Just like you.”  Tom grumbles, while his suppositions become stronger and stronger.  
Even Chris frowns, looking at his friends puzzled.  
  
{ “There were those two mature men, tall, robust and mighty. They allowed me to escape, dealing with that bloody bastard!” } the girl comments.  
Satisfied, Dominic and Matthew stare at Tom with a ‘What were you saying?’ look and the manager must change his mind about the whole issue.  
  
“I.. I apologize. It’s only that... you know... with all these things that happened...” He grumbles, felling extremely awkward.  
“Truth is that you watch too many horror movies, buddy!” Matt makes fun of him and all the tension fades away.  
  
The interview goes on.  
  
{ “But they have killed a man, nonetheless!” the journalist insists.  
“I don’t know, I ran away, so no one knows how things have really gone; but even if they did, that treacherous asshole is better dead than in jail! And I’m sure that all the girls who have been his victims, which haven’t been as lucky as me, agree with me!” the girl coldly explains.  
“If those two strangers hadn’t been there, I don’t know what I would have gone through. Or rather, I know, but I don’t want to think about it!” she adds, with a calmer tone. “Despite their creepy look, I guess they’re my guardian angels and, if they’re listening to me right now, I just want to thank them, from the bottom of my heart.” she states, looking at the television camera. }  
  
Deep within their un-beating hearts, softly moved, both Dom and Matt silently answer to that ‘thank you’.  
“Okay, let’s go out. The taxi is about to arrive!” Tom announces, leaving with Chris.  
“We’ll reach you when we’re done with our breakfast.” Dom informs him, remaining at the table, with Matt.  
  
“Creepy look?! You wore your bright yellow jeans and I wore one of the most colourful T-shirts of my last purchases!” the singer protests, once he’s left alone with his lover.  
Dom chuckles.  
“Looks like I fucked her memory up very well!”  
“Yep, baby, I told you that you made such huge progresses!” the brunet congrats.  
“Mattie?” the blond resorts to his typical demanding tone.  
“Mm?”  
“You’ve only been luckier at the ‘odd and even’ game. But I want to snap our next victim’s neck, okay?” the drummer protests.  
“We’ll see...” his mate winks.  
  
\-------------------------------------------  
  
Just the time to step his foot on Los Angeles Airport in the morning and Dom refused to listen to any reasons, he forced their managers to arrange that meeting. So, in the early afternoon, still suffering a little from the jet-lag, Matthew is already in front of Hudson villa, which seems to have popped out from one of those teen serial TV or movies.  
  
He rings the bell and he doesn’t have to wait for too long before the owner of that house opens the white gate to him.  
Matthew walks through the path of white pebbles, holding tight the half of his pendant that protects him from the sun. And in such a place sun is particularly burning. He takes a look around , admiring the swimming pool, the gazebo and the very remarkable, wide garden.  
  
Matthew is busy pondering if he would like such life style or not, while Kate appears in front of him, with a beaming grin.  
  
“I couldn’t believe my ears when my manager told me you wanted to see me. You know, I’ve been talking a lot about you in those latest months...” she commences, very skittishly.  
“I know.” He strikes back in a glacial tone, as glacial as his look. “Listen, I don’t have much time to spend here, so let’s come to the point, Faith.”  
“It’s _Kate_!” she corrects him, very disappointed.  
  
“Whatever!” He shrugs. “Are you alone?” He asks her, while she decides to give him a second chance and leads him to her living room.  
“Yep, I’m alone. Utterly alone.” she winks, sensually, misunderstanding Matt’s real goal with such explicit question. She sits close to her guest.  
  
The short white dress with flowers that she wear sets off her long and tapered legs and her décolleté, but Matthew’s attention is drawn by her hairstyle that leaves her slender neck totally exposed.  
  
“That’s perfect.” he murmurs.  
“Can I offer you something? I don’t know, a sneak, a drink? I’ve just made an exquisite, icy lemonade.” she rubs against him, acting cock-tease.  
“Oh nope, thank you. However, I guess that I’ll take something to drink, a little bit later...” Matt sneers so disquietingly that Kate starts to repent of inviting him to her house and trying to flirt with him.  
  
Matthew decides that he has waited even for too long.  
  
“Now, Kate, look at me and listen to me very carefully...” he commands, while his very famous blue, dark spirals dwell in his beautiful eyes.  
\--------------------------------------------------  
  
“So? How did it go?” Dom jumps on Matt’s neck, as soon as he sees him come back to the hotel room.  
“Mission accomplished , baby!” the brunet smiles.  
“Phew, I wanted to go there with you.” The drummer pouts.  
“I know, but it would have been too weird if you went to her house with me, can’t you see?” the pianist explains, sitting on the bed, close to him.  
  
“You’re right, but I would have liked to see you in action.” The other insists.  
  “Would you like a  pre-recorded broadcast as well?” the singer asks him shrewdly, drawing his mobile from his pocket.  
“Do you mean that you...”  
  
“Yep, this little tool can record videos pretty well and I’ll tell you more: she’s such a screamer!” the brunet smirks, giving the mobile to the blond. “Have fun, but don’t be too loud. Contrary to you, I still have to sleep!” he points out, laying down on the bed and closing his eyes. “And tomorrow we have the sound check, the concert, the...”  
“Aawww, Mattie, thank you! I love you, so, so, so much!” Dom squeals happy, covering Matt’s face with kisses.  
  
“Yeah, yeah. Now, less love, more rest!” the brunet grumbles, while the blond sits on the bed, ready to enjoy that video.  
\------------------------------------------  
  
It’s only a matter of days before all the kiosks are filled with magazines about Kate Hudson’s official disclaims and her apologies towards the British rocker Matthew Bellamy.  
There’s no need to say that Dom took every single article and he keeps them safe inside a notebook.  
After all, a conquer is always a conquer!  
  
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why aren’t Matt and Dom two vampires for real and why didn’t things go like that? *recovers*
> 
> well, this was written long ago before Kate and Matt split.
> 
> as always, please, if anyone is still around, let me know whatever you think, please, do ;)
> 
> More, much more to come :)


	34. XXVI IA: Deliver your wildest fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WolstenKids’ time! ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, this part is so full of fluff that even ‘these’ Dom and Matt glared at me and grimaced in disgust, but I don’t care, I’m the author, I’m in contwol *insert evil laughter*
> 
> I know they would gladly jump straight to the kinky stuff, but it’s not going to happen, not now ;P
> 
> As always, this is not beta-ed (I’d like some help, but I don’t think anyone is willing to catch up with the too many chapters of this story (or of ‘Change everything you are’ ) ... so I’ll be beta-less , I swear I tried my best , but my English is bad :/ , at least that’s what I’ve been told *apologizes once more*
> 
> Plus, my computer is dead and this one sometimes has the ‘f’ key that doesn’t work.. so I re-read but if some ‘f’s are missing.. you know why ;P
> 
> Huge thanks to anyone who’s still sticking around ^^

Time seems to fly and almost without everyone noticing that, day after day it’s already December.  
A month that, for reasons, makes Chris agitate pretty much, also because Dom doesn’t seem to make things easier for him.  
  
“Hey, big guy, Tomorrow you’re going to turn thirty-two years old. Can you believe it? You’ll always be thirty-two years old, just like me!” The blond trots around him like a child, all cheerful.  
Speaking of children, in honour of the soon to be celebrated guy, also the whole Wolstenfamily joined their Australian tour leg, more precisely  in Brisbane.  
Well, only Buster has stayed with his lovely grandparents, because he’s still too young to travel.  
“Geez, Dom, first things first. Let me turn thirty-two years old, at least!” Chris snorts, all nervous. “And, even most important, first it’s Matt who has to complete his first year as a vampire, am I right?”  
“Sure, but…” The drummer grumbles.  
“So leave me alone until that day come!” His human friend retorts, leaving.  
   
   
Dominic reaches his mate, who is in a room with the door left open, all engrossed playing  with Chris and Kelly’s kids, a wonderful proof of the trust the two humans still have in him and Dom.  
Before getting in the room, Dominic decides to enjoy that moment a little more.  
He can see Matthew on all fours, with Frankie straddling him, while the singer waves a noisy toy in front of a chuckling Ernie.  
To complete the lovely picture, there’s Ava-Jo covering his hair with hair clips of every shape and colour and Alfie splashing his face with a water gun.  
“Come in, Dom, so you can help me!” Matt exhort s him, while he laughs madly after the umpteenth splash.  
The kids are rather astonished when they see the drummer coming in and closing the door.  
“Uncle Matt, how did you know uncle Dom was there?” Ava wonders, in awe.  
“Yep, you weren’t supposed to see him, you had your back turned at him and there’s no mirror here to have a view of the threshold!” Alfie points out, acting like a detective.  
“Well, kids, let’s say that I always know where uncle Dom is around.” The pianist smirks.  
“Yeah, just like I can always feel his presence.  Let’s say that this sort of thing happens when two people are huge friends like we are.” The blond adds.  
“What about daddy? Can you feel him too when he arrives?” Alfie asks them, stunned.  
“Well, we can feel someone coming from afar, but we can’t tell if it’s your daddy or not... by the way, I bet that now he’s busy cuddling your mommy a lot!” Matt smiles.  
“Oh. So, if you can’t feel him, it means you’re not his huge friends.” Frankie pouts.  
“No, wait, it’s not what I meant!” Dominic corrects himself.  
“Congrats, my dear, you had a genial idea!” The guitarist mutters in his direction.  
“Sometimes uncle Dom doesn’t know what he says.” Matt distracts the kids. “Besides, he really loves when someone messes up with his hair!” He sets his devious revenge in action, sneering.  
“What?” Dominic shrieks, panic-stricken.  
“C’mon kids, he’s at your whole disposal, get him!” Matt urges them and it’s only a matter of seconds, before Dom finds himself with his back on the soft carpet,  with Alfie and Frankie who keep him still, Ernie who goes on all fours on his stomach and Ava who combs his hair, ready to embellish it with all the hair accessories she can muster.  
Matthew enjoys the moment, aiming playfully the water gun towards Dominic.  
“If I were you I wouldn’t move, unless you want to become Mr Golden Curls!” The frontman chuckles, knowing what effect water has on his beloved’s hair.  
“Don’t you dare take any picture, otherwise you’ll be in serious trouble!” Dom threatens him, but truth is that he’s having lots of fun.  
   
   
“Uncles, is it true that you’ll never change?” Frankie asks them  
“Yeah, that’s true, we’ll always be carefree, light-hearted and a little crazy, too.” Dom smiles.  
“Nope, what Frankie means was ... is it true that you’ll never age anymore?”  
Dom lifts Ernie in his arms and places him gently on the carpet and then he reaches Matt.  
“What did mommy and daddy exactly tell you?” Matt questions them, leaning his back against the wall.  
“That something happened to you and changed you a lot, although you’re still the same.” Ava quotes her parent’s words, with a puzzled face.  
Dom exchanges a quick glance with his boyfriend and he nods.  
“That’s true. Let’s say that someone gave to Matt a magic gift and after a while Matt gave it to me, too.” The drummer reveals, sitting among the children.  
“Well, it’s not that it’s been very simple to give that gift to him, I’ve been through a lot of trouble before he accepted it!” Matt adds in an accusing tone, reaching the small group.  
“That’s odd, uncle Dom, usually you adore gifts!” Frankie observes, astonished.  
“Yes, I like the ones you can unwrap and, if you don’t like them, you can change them with something else. But once you accept this gift, you can’t change it anymore.” The blond states. “But I’m lucky, because this is the most beautiful gift I have ever received.” He adds in a murmur, making his Sire smiles proudly.  
   
   
“Why is it magic?” Alfie grows curios.  
“Well, to begin with, it prevents us from aging, and then he allows us to do tons of weird things.” Matt commences, looking for his partner’s collaboration and the drummer doesn’t deny that to him.  
“Yeah, for example, now we’re much stronger, faster, we can see better, we can hear better,” Dom starts to enumerate.  
“Show us, show us, show us!” Ava-Jo, Frankie and Alfie spur them, thrilled. The little Ernie can’t understand what’s going on, but seeing his brothers he waves his hands in the air, tilting his head to one side.  
Matt and Dom exchange an uncertain look, getting up and backing off.  
“No, kids, I don’t think we should...” The drummer dissuades them.  
“But we want to see!” Ava insists and it’s not easy to say no to a little girl who stares at you with such hopeful eyes.  
“If you don’t do that, then it means that it’s not true, that you told us a bunch of lies and...”  
Alfie can’t even finish his sentence when Matthew lifts him up.  
“What did you say?” The pianist smirks shrewdly, while all the kids are stunned.  
“But... you were on the opposite side of the room...” Alfie babbles, puzzled, while Matthew places him on the floor.  
Ava and Frankie don’t even have the time to utter a word, because Dom lifts them both up and put them on his shoulders.  
“This works both for faster and stronger!” He explains, pleased, before putting them down again.  
“WOW! This has been extra cool! I wanna do that again!” Frankie giggles.  
Also Ava-Jo is very thrilled, while Alfie looks thoughtful.  
   
   
“You’ve become faster, stronger... your senses are enhanced ... just like vampires!” He ponders.  
Matthew and Dominic jolts in surprise and the Wolstenholme’s firstborn notices that.  
“Dammit! You have become vampires for real!” He states, electrified.  
“Alfie! Where did you learn that ugly word?” Dom reproaches him, mostly in order to change topic.  
“Oh, please, Dominic! He’s eleven years old! Do I really have to remind you what we said at his age?” Matt chuckles, without any intention of acting like a fake moralist.  
“Okay, but you haven’t answered to me yet!” Alfie retorts.  
“What are vampires?” Frankie grows curios.  
“They’re very cool beings who live by night, can turn into bats and go around, terrorizing people. Besides, they can do tons of cool things, like what the uncles did.” His brother explains to him.  
“Yes and no, Alfie. This is not completely exact.” The percussionist points out.  
“Do you really think vampires are extra cool?” Matthew beams and Alfie nods.  
“Well, I like them, too, if they do all that stuff!” Frankie grins.  
“I don’t like them, I’m afraid. And I hate bats!” Ava protests, scared.  
“No bats, Princess, don’t worry about it, besides, I don’t even like them, either!” Dom reassures her, kneeling down and opening his arms to her, who accepts his embrace.  
   
   
“Hey, Alfie, how can you know so many things about vampires?” Matthew interrogates him.  
“Once, my friends and I watched a ‘Dracula’ movie, hidden from everyone.” Alfie confesses, bouncing and staring at the ground, very aware that he did something wrong.  
 “Oh well, this explains everything. But, you know, those movies only confuse minds. To begin with, we don’t have all those stupid magical effects Mr. Transylvania has!” Dominic grumbles, maybe a little bit envious.  
“Who?” Frankie frowns.  
“They still mean Dracula, because he lives there.” The elder brother explains to him, before turning to the musicians again. “But you can’t be vampires! It’s day and the sun kills vampires!”  
“Just like Dom said, movies have tons of wrong stuff!” Matt states.  
“Yeah, probably in the movie they show you that Dracula can’t be reflected in mirrors.” Dom figures out and the kid nods. “There couldn’t be anything more wrong. Look.” He says, drawing out a pocket mirror, opening it and showing his reflection, inviting Matt to do the same.  
The kids stare at their reflection and Alfie is the more astonished one.  
“That bloody movie told us a tons o lies!” He grumbles, nervous. “So, it’s not true either that vampires suck people’s blood.  
“Well, that’s one of the things that’s true.” The singer awkwardly confesses.  
“Eeeww, that’s so gross!” Ava-Jo grimaces in disgust.  
“That’s so cool!” Frankie approves with a huge grin.  
“So, do your canines grow longer and do you sink them in people’s neck?” Alfie goes on with his inquisition, more and more thrilled.  
“I wanna see that movie, too!” Frankie protests.  
“Nope, you can’t, you’re still too young!” The elder brother dissuades him, making the younger pout.  
“I don’t, neither do I want to be bitten, I’m so scared!” The little girl whines.  
“Oh no, sweet little thing,  don’t be afraid of us, never ever. We would never do anything that can harm you.” Dominic approaches her, cautiously. “About the other people, well... it’s like when the doctor draws blood, but it’s definitely more pleasant.” He winks at her.  
“Yeah. Besides, Dracula is evil, we are not. We don’t harm people, we just take what we need from them and then we let them go and they feel more than fine. They can’t even recall what happened.” Matt reveals.  
\- Okay, maybe sometimes we kill someone, but only who deserves it. Uhmm... we’d better skip this part...- He ponders and staring at his Childe he has the feeling he’s thinking the same thing.  
“Why can’t they recall anything?” Frankie asks them.  
“Well, it’s because, we do some magic and they forget they have been bitten.” Dom decides to confess.  
“And how do you do the magic? Do you have a magic hand? Like a fairy?” Ava questions them, thrilled.  
“Geez, Ava, shut up! Fairies are so sissy!” Frankie makes fun of his sister and the firstborn approves.  
“Nope, Princess, no magic wand. We use our eyes, they change colour, then something weird appears inside them and twirl and twirl...” Matt explains.  
“I wanna see the twirling eyes!” Frankie urges them, jumping.  
“And I want to see the elongated canines!” Alfie adds.  
“No way, kids, we already showed you more than we should!” The pianist shakes his head negatively.  
“Yeah, otherwise your daddy would turn us into dust!” The drummer adds.  
“Okay, just a question more, then. Uncle Matt, why did you make this gift just to uncle Dom?” Ava-Jo asks him.  
“Because eternity is like a school trip, so you want to get sure you have your best playmate by your side.” Matt finds the simpler analogy possible, while his partner smiles, touched.  
“But mommy said you want to make a gift to her and daddy, too.” Frankie informs them.  
“Huh? They told you, didn’t they?” Matt wonders in awe.  
“Yeah, they asked us if we would be happy if they didn’t age anymore, because you and uncle Dom could make a weird gift to them.” The children sums up.  
“Okay, but it’s not like the gift uncle Matt gave to me, it’s less complicated. If they accept it they won’t change, they won’t do weird stuff like Matt and I do, simply they won’t age anymore, so they’ll can be forever with you, aren’t you happy?” Dom smiles.  
“Won’t we age anymore, too?” Alfie asks them, concerned.  
“Don’t even dare to say that! All you have to do is grow up, play, have fun and enjoy every step of your lives.” Matt spurs them, opening the door. “No go back to your parents and...”  
   
“There’s no need for that, your parents are here!” Kelly chuckles, with her husband by her side.  
“Uncles, it’s true, you just can’t feel daddy’s presence!” Ava points out, before her dad lifts her in his arms.  
“So didn’t you notice that there was someone outside?” Alfie questions them, while Kelly takes Ernie from his arms.  
“Mommy, mommy, uncles told us what happened and what they can do now!” Frankie informs her, all excited.  
“Really? So what exactly did they tell you?” Kelly asks her son, but she’s clearly casting a threatening look towards Matt and Dom.  
“All was needed to be said.” Matt replies, facing her look fearlessly.  
“But whit limits!” Dom points out, less fearlessly.  
“Uncle Matt showed us how faster he became!” Alfie informs them, thrilled at the memory.  
“Uncle Dom showed us also how stronger he is now!” Frankie adds, jumping.  
“I knew I shouldn’t have left them alone with you!” Chris mutters, glaring at his best friends  
“Instead it was for good, they just needed to know what has happened.” Dom strikes back.  
“Yeah, plus, think about it, it’s been five albums and various b-sides that I’ve kept telling I want the twuth, it would be very hypocrite from me if I didn’t spread it.” The frontman justifies.  
“Still with the limits!” Dominic rushes to add, because immortal or not he’s still sort of afraid of the Wolstenholme spouses.  
   
“Yes, daddy, we insisted to make them tell us the truth. And we don’t repent for that, at least I don’t.” Alfie states very seriously.  
“Neither do I!” Frankie grins.  
Ernie confines himself to yelling happily and waving his arms.  
“What about you, Ava?” Her dad questions the little girl.  
“Well, everything is so strange, but uncles said I shouldn’t be afraid and I always do what they tell me to do.” She murmurs, making the two vampires smile.  
“See? Your kids are not fraidy-cat like Tom!” Dominic chuckles.  
“Well, it wasn’t a good reason for telling them that. Did you think about the school? Little kids always talk with each other...” Kelly makes them notice, concerned.  
“Bless children’s oh so fervid imagination!” Matt strikes back. “Do you really think that that could draw attention?” He shrugs.  
“Matt is right. And if some teachers start to ask too many questions, Matt and I will pay a visit to them and deal with that.” Dominic sneers, with an attitude that scares both the kids and their parents.  
“Dom meant that we would hypnotize them and make them forget any weird thing they happened to hear.” Matthew makes everything clearer,  reproaching his vivacious Childe with his look.  
“Yeah, yeah, I just meant to hypnotize them.” The blond snorts, a little disappointed.  
   
   
“Uncles, can I call you if at school some bullies annoy me?” Alfie wonders.  
“Sue, just name the place and we’ll be there!” The guitarist nods.  
“No way, Alfie!” Kelly interferes. “This is not the proper way to solve problems.”  
“Your mother is right; you have to punch those guys, good and proper, there’s the only way to prove you’re not a coward and gain their respect.” Chris exhorts him, placing his daughter down.  
“Christopher! Is this what you teach your sons to do?” Kelly snaps, furious.  
“Oh, c’mon, Kelly. How many times have I been through that when I was his same age? Not to mention Dom and Matt, they were bullies’ favourite targets!”  
“Please, don’t remind me of that!” The pianist rolls his eyes.  
“If I had been a vampire already back to those day, I would have defended you every moment.” Dom declares, protective.  
“How cute!” The brunet smiles at him. “And I would have done the same with you, it’s not that you had an easier life than mine!”  
“Lucky for you, I was there, defending you.” Chris grins proudly, beating his chest with his hand. “See, Alfie? This is a necessary phase in a boy’s life.” He explains to his son.  
   
“I can’t believe that you’re really teaching him those things!” Kelly snaps again, even more annoyed. “Alfie, don’t listen to your father, unless you want to become a cocky, overbearing braggart, all muscles and no brain!” She goes on, turning to her elder son.  
“Hey! Is that what you think of me?” Chris asks his wife, insulted.  
“Yes. When you act this way! And I won’t change my mind easily. Quite the contrary, right now I can’t even stand your view! C’mon, kids, let’s go!” Kelly strikes back, pissed off, leaving with all her sons.  
   
“Troubles in Heaven, am I right?” Matt teases his friend with a sly smile.  
“It’s a bad matter, buddy!” Dom pats his shoulder.  
“The worse thing is that tomorrow it’s my birthday, but she won’t change her mood for that reason. I know her.” The gorgeous drummer despairs.  
 “She will, if you do something special to make her forgive you!” The blond urges him.  
“Or maybe... if she didn’t remember anything about our last discussion...” Chris hints, with a knowing smile.  
“Are you trying to tell us something, big boy?” Matthew scrutinizes him, narrowing his eyes.  
  
(end IA)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did you get what Chris plans to do? ;)
> 
> You’ll see in next part, along with such dirty kinky hot stuff between our dear vampires that I should be ashamed to post XD
> 
> I’m always eager to know what you think so far ^^   
> Bye


	35. XXVI IB: Deliver your wildest fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris does something he’ll probably regret and then... our dear guys celebrate. Hot, horny vamps with very kinky ideas, you’ve been warned!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Finally the title of this chapter finds its raison d’être here . Do you know when you plot a story but then the characters do just what they please (Please, authors around, tell me it happens to you, too! XD) ? Well, this is just what happened. The dirty stuff in this chapter is only ‘this’ Matt’ s initiative (and there’s no need to say that his eternal mate eagerly approved that!); I tried to reason with him (them) , saying it was too risqué, it could be kitsch, that maybe not everyone would have appreciated it... but it was useless, I suspect that he (or said eternal mate) must have hypnotised me to make me write it. So, if you’re going to dislike this part, it’s ‘these’ Matt and Dom’s fault! ;P
> 
> I just wish you won’t be too shocked, but this is the only fic of mines where such a scene could be justified ... *hides from angry crowd*
> 
> This is not beta-ed , sorry for that :/
> 
> p.s. a huge special thanks to East Jesus Nowhere <3 (she has not reached this part yet, but when she does she will know I'm thanking her :) )

“I’m just saying that my birthday is coming and this would be a very appreciated gift from you two, much more than the un-wearable stuff I’m sure you bought to me!” the human strikes back, merciless.

“Hey, that’s a low blow!” the singer accuses him, insulted.  
“We have chosen those T-shirts with extreme attention.” the percussionist pouts.  
“That’s what scares me the most!” Chris grumbles.

“However, we don’t do certain stuff!” Dom asserts.  
“Oh, c’mon, I’m not asking too much,” the bassist insists. “you do that to hundreds of fans or to whoever you meet on your way. You take her to an isolate place, you make her look in your eyes and it’s done!”

“Tsk, tsk, shame on you for asking us such a thing.” the more experienced vampire shakes his head, indignantly.

“Oh well, it’s not that it causes brain damage, is it?” the human makes them notice.

“No, of course it doesn’t, but I can’t believe that you really want to manipulate just the woman you love!” the less experienced vampire states.  
“Well, it’s not a real manipulation, it’s only for my birthday; then the day after you can give her memory back to Kelly, so she will be even more pissed off with me, but I will deal with her on my own!” Chris explains.

“I don’t know, Chris...” Dom babbles, unsure.  
“Oh, c’mon, do that in the name of our friendship!” Chris plays the winning card.  
“This is a dirty blackmail!” the blond protests.

“You’re right, after all, how many time did I rescue your asses back to school days? Let’s see.. one hundred, two hundred times maybe?” Chris pretends to ask, caressing his chin thoughtfully.

He just knows he’s pushing their right buttons.

“Okay, you won!” Matt gives in. “Come with me, Dom, you’ll bring the kids away and I’ll do the rest!”

\--------------------------------

The day after, by night, Chris is linking arms with his very joyful Kelly. She just keeps cuddling him and smiling at him in the brightest way ever.

“Mommy, weren’t you angry with daddy?” Ava asks her, tugging her dress.  
“Me? Angry with him? I never could, honey!” her mother smiles at her, caressing her head, before turning her whole attention back to her beloved husband.

Tom is too busy filming the whole party night to stop and ponder whether that situation is weird or not.

In the meantime, Matt and Dom are observing their friend from the other side of the room and they raise their glasses. They make a toast to Chris and exchange an understanding gaze with him.

  
The next morning, after persuading the kids to enjoy a funny day around Brisbane with their uncle Tom; Matt and Dom goes to Kelly and Chris and do what the bassist asked them to do.

“YOU DID TO ME WHAT?!” the woman roars, chasing after her husband who has rushed outside the room.  
“Kelly, try to understand... after all I did it for you, too. It wouldn’t have been nice if people saw you sulking during my party!” Chris justifies, while he backs off in the corridor.

He couldn’t give a damn if people are watching them.

“Ooohh, so you did it for me, how nice of you!” Kelly beams, bringing her hand on her heart, before turning her expression into a even angrier one. “So now, let me thank you properly, honey!” she goes on, taking off one of her shoes and throwing it to her now aching target.

The two vampires enjoyed the whole scene, resting on the jamb of the door.

“Chris is in big trouble, isn’t he?” the drummer chuckles.  
“I really don’t understand him. I mean, if we had a fight and I could erase the memory of that from you, I’d surely do nothing to make you remember again.” Matt states, crossing his arms.

“Oh, is it so?” his Childe coldly questions him. “Do you realise what horrible thing you just told me?”  
“Oh c’mon, baby, it was only an hypothetic speech...” The brunet babbles.  
“Oh, I see. Well, let’s say that I’ll hypothetically refuse to sleep with you tonight!” the blond snaps, leaving before his partner has even the time to open his mouth.

\--------------------------------------------

Thanks to god only knows which persuading art, just like Chris managed to reconcile with Kelly before she leaves with the kids; even between Dominic and Matt the harmony is back, right in time for a very special event.

After the huge success of the second night at Brisbane Entertainment Center, a proper birthday party for the drummer has started from the after show, but in Matt’s opinion too many girls are surrounding the celebrated guy.

Maybe it’s the reason why the frontman is a bit harsh when it’s the moment too feed from some of those girls.

  
“Matt! Do you realise that the staff called the ambulance?” Dominic makes him notice, while – with the singer’s big relief – they are waiting for a taxi to bring them back to their hotel.  
“So what? Baby, you have this effect on your fans!” Matt innocently justifies  
“Bells...” the blond tries again, with a tone of reproach.

“Try to understand, she has left such a ugly lipstick mark on the corner of your mouth ... you should thank me if they just call the ambulance... and not a hearse!” Matt snaps, making his mate laugh.  
“Words coming from the one who taught to me self-control!” the drummer makes fun of him, whilst they can see the taxi coming from afar.

“So I see that this hasn’t spoiled your celebration mood.” his Sire states.  
“Quite the contrary, I guess it just increased it!” his Childe smirks, giving him a very quick kiss, not visible by human eyes.

“However, poor dear Tom, when he saw the ambulance coming he figured everything out and he was terrified!” Dom informs him, while they get in the taxi.  
“He’ll recover. Look at Chris, he didn’t mind at all.” Matt shrugs, before giving the direction to the driver.  
“It’s just because he knows he owns us a very big favour!” the blond recalls.

Once they leave the taxi, the two lovers head towards their room.

“Well, well.. are you my gift and now I can unwrap you?” Dom murmurs sexily, shutting the door with a kick and pulling Matt by the collar of his white jacket.

“Nope, I’m sorry to upset you, but this is not what I’m planning for tonight.” Matthew smirks mysteriously, breaking free, even if unwillingly.

“Okay, but where’s my gift?” the blond asks him, eagerly.  
“And then _I_ was the materialist, right?”  
“Don’t you even dare change topic, Bells!”  
“Your gift is not here.” the brunet explains.

“Huh? It’s not here like you’re about to find an excuse to go out, jump on a taxi and come back with the first thing you manage to find in a store, because you forgot to buy me a gift?” the blond hints, very disappointed.

“It’s so touching the way you trust your boyfriend!” Matt ironically says, a bit insulted. “Nope, it’s more a ‘It’s not here’ like it’s in a place we’ll go to later, because I couldn’t hide it here without you noticing that.” the younger clarifies.

The elder eyes are shining more brightly.

“Oh, Matteh... did you really buy me a...” he dares to wonder, but he can’t finish his question, because the other puts a finger on his mouth.

“Hush, we’ll think about that later. Or do you have all this rush to leave now?” he teases him.

“It depends on what you’re planning, honey.” the other challenges him, passing his tongue on his upper lip.

Like a magnet, an instant later he’s involved into a passionate kiss with Matthew who couldn’t resist to such a vision.

“Yep, this is definitely a very good incentive to make me stay.” the blond chuckles, parting from him.

Matt smiles at him, while he opens a drawer of the night table, drawing out something unexpected.

“Is it a good incentive, too?” he sneers, waving in front of Dom’s eyes two pairs of stuffed handcuffs, one hot pink and the other leopard-printed.

“Oh, fuck!” is Dom’s very satisfying reaction.

He stares at Matt with tons of expectations. And Matt is determined to go even beyond his expectations.

“Sure, making you stand up and chaining you to a wall would be even more intriguing, but we can try that stuff at home, we must arrange here.” the guitarist explains, fixing an handcuff on the iron headboard, before doing the same at the other corner with the other pair of handcuffs.

“No matter how appealing the plan for home sounds, I guess I won’t mind arrange either!” Dom winks at him, before Matt walks towards him with catlike attitude.

“You don’t like this shirt much, do you, baby?” He murmurs, caressing his shoulder through the blue shirt.

A resounding warning growl is the only answer he gets.

“Ok, you do!” Matt snorts, unbuttoning it with extreme care, until he opens it and takes it off Dom, letting it fall on the carpet.

“But you aren’t fond of these jeans...” Matt makes another attempt, letting two finger slip into the belt loops and pulling Dom closer.

The drummer growls again, even more threateningly than before.

“Okay, okay!” Matthew rolls his eyes, taking off the jeans without spoiling them. “But you’re a pain in the neck, Tom wouldn’t have made such fuss!” he grumbles.

“So go to do certain stuff with Tom!” Dom pretends to be insulted, turning his back and crossing his arms.  
“I don’t fucking think so!” Matt chuckles, pushing him on the bed, where he immediately reaches him.

“Hey, Mister, aren’t you wearing too many clothes for my liking?” the drummer protests, but he lets his partner grabs his wrists and cuff him to the bed.

“Oh, no, Dommeh, forget my body for a while. Now we’re going to think only about you.” the singer informs him with silky voice, getting rid of his boxers, too, the last obstacle to his complete nakedness.

“Uhmm, I’m not so sure that I’m going to like it.” Dominic complains.

“I’m sure you are.” Matthew says with s knowing smile, toying with the handcuffs around his wrists. “You know, baby, a few days ago I saw ‘The deer hunter’ again and it gave me a certain idea.”  
“There’s no scene like this in ‘The deer hunter’!” his boyfriend makes him notice, a little puzzled.

“Nope, but it was the Russian roulette scene to inspire me.”  
“Matteh, honey, you have confused ideas about that. First, you don’t have to be naked to play at the Russian roulette; second... it’s not that only because I can do that without any irreversible consequence... I’m going to place a gun on my temple and shoot or...”

Matt confines himself to pinching his lips between his fingers, making the blond shut up.

“Will you let me talk?” he asks him and the percussionist nods.  
“No gun, no temple shooting.” he informs him, setting his mouth free. “Although you have a thing for bullets!”  
“Matt...” Dom resorts to his warning tone again.

“I was only joking!” his partner chuckles. “The basic of the Russian roulette is to take a risky decision, letting fate guide you. Isn’t that fascinating?”  
“Sure it is, but what’s the point?”

“Let’s play to ‘Kiss or Bite?’!” the brunet declares.  
“Huh? ‘Kiss or Bite’ did you say? How do you play at it?” the blond grow curios.

“It’s simple: you must tell me if you want a kiss or a bite, but you don’t know in which zone of your body you’re going to get it.  _Any_ zone.” Matt explains, with a lustful sparkle in his eyes.  
 

“Uuuuh, I like it! But... aren’t you going to change your mind at the last moment, whatever my choice is?” Dom questions him, while his eyes sparkle with his lover’s same light.  
“I never will.” the other assures.  
  
“Good.  Let’s start then!” Dom approves, thrilled.  
  
“Kiss or bite?” the brunet sensually whisper in his ear.  
“Mm... kiss.” the blond requires, a second before he feels his mate’s soft lips on his right eyelid, for a delicate kiss.  
  
“You’ve been lucky.” Matt chuckles.  
“Do you mean that you would have bitten my eye?” Dom asks him, stunned.  
“I gave you my word that I would never change my mind in front of anything. After all, there’s nothing you can’t heal in a heartbeat!” Matt shrugs.  
“You have a point.” Dom recognizes.  
  
“However, it would have been like a piercing on your eyebrow...oops, I forgot, you have no eyebrows!” the other makes fun of the drummer.  
“Bells!” Dom growls, bothered, trying to throw himself on his mate, before being reminded that his freedom to move has been remarkably reduced and it wouldn’t be nice to break the headboard of a bed that’s not even theirs.  
“Oh, c’mon, touchy guy, let’s go on.” Matt urges him. “What do you want now?”  
“A bite.” his interlocutor asserts.  
  
He laughs for the tickle when Matt rushes to his nose, biting the tip and licking away the few drops of blood he has drawn.  
  
“This game is stupid!” Dom grumbles, but truth s that he’s having a lot of fun.  
“It’s not stupid, it’s just unpredictable.” Matt strikes back, ruffling his hair. “Kiss or bite?”  
“Kiss.” Dom decides, after pondering for a while.  
  
Matthew mutters something unintelligible, very disappointed, before kissing his left lobe, but kiss after kiss he lets it go too much and before he can realise his pointy canines are scratching the soft skin.  
  
“Hey! I have said ‘kiss’!” Dom pretends to scold him, but he’s not disappointed at all.  
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.... your ears are so bloody biteable!” Matt justifies. “Let’s go back to business. Next round, baby.”  
  
“Okay. Now I want a bite... ouch!” Dom jolts, feeling Matt biting and piercing his lower lip, before sucking the blood, but without turning it into a kiss.  
“Mm... this wasn’t so bad.” Dom murmurs, satisfied. “I’m almost afraid to make next request, but... kiss.”  
  
Just the time to say that and Matt starts to place wet kisses on his neck, starting from the juncture with his shoulder.  
  
“No way, Bells! Are you fucking kidding me?” the drummer lively protests.  
“Nope, my love, I swear that I’m holding back as much as I can. I’m just respecting your choice and I’m so disappointed as well; I’d really like to give you a big, pwoper bite, but rules are rules!” Matt strikes back, without parting from his neck.  
  
“I know, but... at least a hickey shouldn’t be against the damn rules, am I wrong?” Dom dares to ask.  
“No, I guess it’s not.” Matt smiles, before pleasing Dom and pleasing himself, too, in the process.  
  
“I have a feeling you’re going to pick a good choice now. Kiss or bite?” Matt asks him, once he’s done.  
“Bite. WOW!” Dom moans ecstatic, feeling Matt biting him deeply, next to his right nipple. “Why didn’t you do to me anything like that before?” he questions his mate between moans.  
“Because I didn’t know if you would have liked it.” the brunet replies, licking the little wound clean.  
“Hell yeah I like it, fuck! I want to receive one once a day.” Dom informs him, while he tries to recover from the sort of orgasm he nearly has had.  
  
As that kinky game goes on, Dom finds himself with a kiss on his buttock, an ankle, a thigh,  a wrist and a cheek, while he has bites on his shoulder, hip, elbow and his left pinkie.  
  
“Kiss or bite?” Matt asks him once more.  
“Bite!” Dom orders without a second thought.  
  
Matt draws a scarf out of the pocket of his jacket, rolls it into a ball and push it inside his boyfriend’s mouth.  
  
“You’re going to need it.” He warns him, before accomplishing his request.  
  
“OuchGoddammitMattWhatTheFuckAreYouFuckingNuts?” is Dom’s muffled reaction, otherwise he would woke the whole hotel up.  
  
After all, Matt has just bitten his throbbing. hard cock, half of his length, making Dom wriggle madly.  
  
“OhhhhFuckFuckFuckOhGodItsAmazing!” he adds, as soon as the initial pain turns into the most intense pleasure he has ever felt.  
  
“Huh? I think I’ll want a bite there, too… sooner or later.” Matt smiles, taking the scarf from his mouth and placing it on a certain zone that now needs it more. “No, wait, I want to try the whole game on me.” he adds, while he watches his lover worn out by the strong orgasm he caused to him.  
  
“Damn right, you must!” Dominic advices him, as soon as he recovers.  
  
Matt sets him free from the handcuffs.  
  
“Now, love, go have a quick shower, so then we can leave. There’s your gift waiting for you!” the pianist asserts.  
“Aren’t you going to join me?” the drummer pouts, while he goes to the bathroom.  
“I said _quick_!” the other chuckles.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In next chapter, beyond Dom’s gift (I bet all of you guessed what it is ;) ) there will be so much more, all the stuff I was supposed to write in this chapter, lol
> 
> \- I really think Matt and Dom buy very questionable stuff to wear to poor Chris XD  
> \- I really think Dominic growls if someone messes with his clothes!
> 
> Ok, now feel free to tell me anything, even insulting me XD
> 
> *runs away*

**Author's Note:**

> OK, maybe the beginning is pretty angst , but you trust me, don't you? ;P
> 
> Disclaimer: the title is taken from the lyrics of 'In your world ', by Muse.
> 
> Hope you'll like, but feel free to tell me whatever you think. Pwetty please ;)
> 
> Probably this is the oddest story I've ever tried to write about Muse... *bites her nails *
> 
> sorry if you already know it...


End file.
